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Two charity workers still missing after Myanmar 'Christmas massacre'
At least 30 people, including women and children, were killed in the eastern Myanmar state of Kayah on Friday, according to the Karenni Human Rights Group, with two members of international humanitarian group Save the Children still missing.
The "charred remains" were discovered and identified close to Hpruso Township in the state, which is also known as Karenni, on December 25, according to the group.
Myanmar's National Unity Government (NUG) called it a "Christmas massacre in Karenni state," stating that junta troops "detained an unconfirmed number of [villagers] and travellers and destroyed their properties."
READ MORE: Desmond Tutu, anti-apartheid leader and voice of justice, dead at 90
"As the world celebrates Christmas and its message of peace, the NUG repeats its demands on the international community to act immediately and decisively to end the military junta's escalating war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Myanmar people," the NUG statement added.
The Myanmar military, which seized power of the country in a February 1 coup, said it had shot and killed an unspecified number of "terrorists with weapons" from the opposition armed forces in the village, according to state media.
The people were in seven vehicles and did not stop for the military, it said.
The military has not responded to CNN's request for comment.
The Karenni National Defence Force, one of the largest of several civilian militias, told Reuters the dead were not their members but civilians seeking refuge from the conflict.
The international NGO Save the Children said two staff members who were travelling home for the holidays were caught in the incident and remain missing.
"We have confirmation that their private vehicle was attacked and burned out," said the organisation in a statement.
"The military reportedly forced people from their cars, arrested some, killed others and burned their bodies."
Save the Children added that at least 38 people were killed in the attack, and the charity has suspended its operations in Kayah, Chin, and parts of Magway and Kayin in response.
"Save the Children condemns this attack as a breach of International humanitarian law," chief executive Inger Ashing said in a statement
"We are horrified at the violence carried out against innocent civilians and our staff, who are dedicated humanitarians, supporting millions of children in need across Myanmar.
""Investigations into the nature of the incident are continuing but attacks against aid workers cannot be tolerated."
CNN had reached out for more information regarding the attack.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military overthrew the previous elected government and detained many top officials — including ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was jailed earlier this month.
Since the coup, the military has tried to assert its power over the people through bloody force.
UN agencies, rights groups and local journalists have documented massacres, mass arrests, torture, forced displacement, men, women and children being murdered with impunity, heavy weaponry used by junta forces to attack villages and root out armed resistance groups, and the blocking of humanitarian aid.
Junta forces have killed more than 1300 people and arrested over 11,000, according to advocacy group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
The military has dismissed the AAPP's data, which has been cited by the United Nations, and accuses it of bias.
Nobel Peace Prize Recipient Archbishop Desmond Tutu Dies at 90
JOHANNESBURG, Dec 26 (Reuters) – Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and veteran of South Africa’s struggle against white minority rule, died on Sunday at the age of 90, the presidency said.
In 1984 Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent opposition to apartheid. A decade later, he witnessed the end of that regime and chaired a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, set up to unearth atrocities committed during those dark days.
The outspoken Tutu was considered the nation’s conscience by both Black and white, an enduring testament to his faith and spirit of reconciliation in a divided nation.
He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the late 1990s and in recent years was hospitalised on several occasions to treat infections associated with his cancer treatment.
“The passing of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is another chapter of bereavement in our nation’s farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans who have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said.
“Desmond Tutu was a patriot without equal.”
The presidency gave no details on the cause of death.
Tutu preached against the tyranny of the white minority but his fight for a fairer South Africa never ended, calling the Black political elite to account with as much feistiness as he had the white Afrikaners.
In his final years, he regretted that his dream of a “Rainbow Nation” had yet to come true. read more
“Ultimately, at the age of 90, he died peacefully at the Oasis Frail Care Centre in Cape Town this morning,” Dr Ramphela Mamphele, acting chairperson of the Archbishop Desmond Tutu IP Trust and Co-ordinator of the Office of the Archbishop, said in a statement on behalf of the Tutu family.
A frail-looking Tutu was seen in October being wheeled into his former parish at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town, which used to be a safe haven for anti-apartheid activists, for a service marking his 90th birthday. read more
Dubbed “the moral compass of the nation”, his courage in defending social justice, even at great cost to himself, always shone through. He often fell out with his erstwhile allies at the ruling African National Congress party over their failures to address the poverty and inequalities that they promised to eradicate. read more
Archbishop Desmond Tutu laughs as crowds gather to celebrate his birthday by unveiling an arch in his honour outside St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town, South Africa, October 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings
Tutu, just five feet five inches (1.68 metres) tall and with an infectious giggle, travelled tirelessly throughout the 1980s, becoming the face of the anti-apartheid movement abroad while many of the leaders of the rebel ANC such as Nelson Mandela were behind bars.
Although he was born near Johannesburg, he spent most of his later life in Cape Town and led numerous marches and campaigns to end apartheid from St George’s front steps, which became known as the “People’s Cathedral” and a powerful symbol of democracy.
‘A PROPHET AND A PRIEST’
Having officially retired from public life on his 79th birthday, Tutu continued to speak out on a range of moral issues, including accusing the West in 2008 of complicity in Palestinian suffering by remaining silent.
In 2013, he declared his support for gay rights, saying he would never “worship a God who is homophobic”.
Tributes poured in from around the world for the man fondly known as “The Arch”. read more
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby hailed Tutu as a “a prophet and priest” while flamboyant British billionaire Richard Branson said “the world has lost a giant”.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson noted Tutu’s “critical” role in the “struggle to create a new South Africa” and Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere recalled “a great little man who showed the power of reconciliation and forgiveness”.
“We are better because he was here,” Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King, said. Palestine Liberation Organisation official Wasel Abu Youssef said Tutu was “one of the biggest supporters” of the Palestinian cause.
Tutu and his long-time friend Mandela lived for a time on the same street in the South African township of Soweto, making Vilakazi Street the only one in the world to host two Nobel Peace Prize winners.
“His most characteristic quality is his readiness to take unpopular positions without fear,” Mandela once said of Tutu. “Such independence of mind is vital to a thriving democracy.”
At a Boxing Day service at St George’s, the Very Reverend Michael Weeder paid homage to Tutu from the Archbishop’s former pulpit, saying it was “once the celebrated point of command” before asking the handful of parishioners present to bow their heads in a moment of silence.
“It is sad, but he was old and served his country very well and it’s a very painful loss at a time when there is a leadership crisis in the country and the world,” said Ntokozo Mjiyako, a lawyer taking an early morning stroll in Cape Town.
Additional reporting by Wendell Roelf; Writing by James Macharia Chege; Editing by Robert Birsel, Kirsten Donovan
The post Nobel Peace Prize Recipient Archbishop Desmond Tutu Dies at 90 appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.
What is the real cost of a switch to biofuels?
By Phil Pennington of RNZ The shift to use more biofuels is forecast to raise petrol and diesel prices and knock up to $1 billion off New Zealand’s economic growth within four years, but not making a move could also carry big,…
South Australia introduces new restrictions as Omicron cases rise
South Australia has introduced new restrictions to curb the spread of the Omicron variant as the state recorded 774 new COVID-19 cases.
Crowd numbers will be slashed from 35,000 to 25,000 at the Adelaide Strikers Big Bash League New Year's Eve clash at Adelaide Oval, following today's COVID-19 update.
It comes after Premier Steven Marshall announced today new density limits for hospitality venues and gyms as Omicron cases surge in the state.
READ MORE: NSW sees another rise in COVID-19 cases as Victorian infections drop
As of midnight tonight, gyms will revert back to one person per seven metres and hospitality venues will also introduce density limits.
One person per four square metres will be allowed for indoor dining while one person per two square metres will be allowed in outdoor settings.
Only seated dining and drinking is allowed in hospitality venues.
https://twitter.com/TomAngley9/status/1474966947221553152
Home-based activities will be capped at 10 people per household, a decrease from the current restriction of 30 people per household.
"We know this is a difficult time of year to be putting these restrictions in place, we would not be doing it if we weren't concerns about the trajectory of the Omicron variant," Mr Marshalls said.
READ MORE: COVID-19 testing in 'meltdown' as clinics close on public holiday
Mr Marshall also urged people to work from home where possible immediately and to also reduce movement around the state.
"My strong message to everybody in South Australia is to wear a mask, do so in indoors in public areas and do so in your officer environment," Mr Marshall added.
"My strong advice to people is to go and get that vaccination."
READ MORE: 'We're all going to get Omicron': NSW Health Minister expects everybody in NSW will contract virus
Mr Marshall said "well in excess of 80 per cent" of today's infections are the Omicron variant.
"Unfortunately the Omicron trajectory right around the world is very worrying,"
"What we do know is the severity is much lower than delta and other strains the problem with omicron is it is highly transmissible"
There are currently 17 people in hospital with the virus and three people in intensive care.
Residents urged only to get tested if sick as NSW clinics overwhelmed
New South Wales residents have been urged to only get tested if they have symptoms or have been advised by authorities as long COVID-19 testing lines continue.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet urged people who don't have symptoms, have not been directed by NSW Health or are not travelling interstate to not get tested.
"I know there are long queues right across our state, so if we can help with that, if you do not feel unwell, if you are not advised by NSW Health, there is no need to receive a PCR test," he said.
READ MORE: Sydney COVID-19 testing in 'meltdown' as clinics close on public holiday
"You are taking a spot in the queue from somebody who needs a test."
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said to get a rapid antigen test if you're visiting family instead of lining up for a PCR test.
"I have heard also people saying, "I'm getting it because I'm visiting Aunty Mabel in three or four days", well, if you have a test today, and then you're visiting Aunty Mabel in three or four days, it may well be by then you're positive," Mr Hazzard said.
Long testing queues in Bondi in the city's eastern suburbs have already banked up today as NSW reported another record-breaking day of COVID-19 case numbers.
The state recorded 6394 new infections in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
No new deaths were reported in the state.
More than 109,000 people were tested yesterday.
https://twitter.com/NSWHealth/status/1474862544552546306
There has been a sharp rise in hospitalisations overnight, with 458 in hospital currently.
There were 388 people in hospital yesterday.
No more people have entered intensive care since yesterday, stabilising at 52 people.
Mr Hazzard said the majority of people in intensive care are not vaccinated.
"So the unvaccinated are taking more places than perhaps should be in our ICUs simply because they have chosen not to be vaccinated," he said.
He implored everyone to get vaccinated due to the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant causing the sharp rise of cases in NSW.
QR check-in codes will be reinstalled in retail settings from tomorrow.
Mr Perrottet said there will be one code at the entry to shopping centres, and people won't need to check-in at every store.
"We will have one check-in code, just need to check-in when you go into a retail centre, you won't need to do it at every single store and that's on the advice of NSW Health because as I said that all links back to testing," Mr Perrottet said.
READ MORE: Search for swimmer missing in NSW dam on Christmas Day
Victoria records 1608 new cases, two additional deaths
Victoria has recorded 1608 new cases of COVID-19 from more than 72,500 tests conducted on Christmas Day.
An additional two people died as a result of COVID-19.
Currently, there are 374 Victorians in hospital, 77 of whom are in ICU and 43 of whom are currently on ventilators.
READ MORE: Space telescope launched on daring quest to behold first stars
https://twitter.com/VicGovDH/status/1474862638542647296
The state's full vaccination rate for Victorians aged over 12 remains at 92 per cent.
More than five million vaccine doses have been administered to date at state-run Victorian clinics.
Queensland records 714 new cases
Queensland has recorded 714 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, a slight drop from yesterday's 765 infections.
The total number of active cases is now 2857.
More than 29,000 tests were carried out yesterday.
READ MORE: 'We're all going to get Omicron': NSW Health Minister expects everybody in NSW will contract virus
Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard said the drop in cases is due to people not coming out to get tested on Christmas Day.
"It won't surprise us at all if in the coming days the numbers get substantially higher," he said.
There are seven people in hospital who are symptomatic with the virus and no cases in the intensive care units.
Dr Gerrard said about 75 per cent of infections are the Omicron variant.
Western Australia
Western Australia has reported one new local COVID-19 case.
"This case, which will be officially counted in tomorrow's numbers, attended the Perth Mess Hall event, and was also staying at a hostel linked to a previous local case," a WA spokesperson said.
"This person tested positive while in quarantine and is not considered to have been contagious while in the community.
"This brings the total number of locally acquired cases to eight. All cases related to this outbreak are assumed to be Delta, following confirmation that this is the strain the index case has.
"In addition, one other case was reported overnight. This case is related to overseas travel and is in hotel quarantine."
There are now 18 active confirmed cases in WA, 15 in quarantine hotels and three in self-quarantine.
Sydney lab tells more than 400 COVID-positive people they are negative
A Sydney laboratory has apologised after hundreds of people were told they had tested negative for COVID-19 when they were positive.
"SydPath last night incorrectly messaged more than 400 people, advising them they had tested negative to COVID," SydPath said in a statement.
"These people had tested positive to COVID.
READ MORE: NSW residents urged only to get tested if sick as clinics overwhelmed
https://twitter.com/JoshBavas/status/1474949996243947520
"As soon we became aware of the issue this morning, SydPath immediately commenced a process to contact impacted people.
"An emergency response team is now investigating the cause of this mistake, which is believed to be human error.
"We sincerely apologise to all those impacted."
SydPath medical director Professor Anthony Dodds read out a statement to the media this afternoon.
"Owing to the very large volume of tests that we've been contending with at SydPath, last night we incorrectly messaged 400 patients who had been swabbed at our centres from December 22 and December 23 advising them they had tested negative to COVID-19," Professor Dodds said.
"These people had in fact tested positive to COVID-19.
"As soon as we became aware of this issue this morning, SydPath immediately commenced the process to contact these impacted individuals."
Professor Dodds said none of the sailors involved in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race are believed to be caught up in the cohort of infected people.
South African anti-apartheid veteran Archbishop Desmond Tutu dies at 90
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, South Africa's Nobel Peace Prize-winning racial justice activist, has died at the age of 90.
President Cyril Ramaphosa issued a statement expressing his "profound sadness" at the anti-apartheid veteran and LGBTQI+ advocate's death on Sunday.
"The passing of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is another chapter of bereavement in our nation's farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans who have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa," Mr Ramaphosa said, in a statement issued by Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele.
"Desmond Tutu was a patriot without equal; a leader of principle and pragmatism who gave meaning to the biblical insight that faith without works is dead.
"A man of extraordinary intellect, integrity and invincibility against the forces of apartheid, he was also tender and vulnerable in his compassion for those who had suffered oppression, injustice and violence under apartheid, and oppressed and downtrodden people around the world."
An uncompromising foe of apartheid, South Africa's brutal regime of oppression again the Black majority, Archbishop Tutu worked tirelessly, though non-violently, for its downfall.
The buoyant, blunt-spoken clergyman used his pulpit as the first Black bishop of Johannesburg and later Archbishop of Cape Town as well as frequent public demonstrations to galvanise public opinion against racial inequity both at home and globally.
"As chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission he articulated the universal outrage at the ravages of apartheid and touchingly and profoundly demonstrated the depth of meaning of ubuntu, reconciliation and forgiveness," Mr Ramaphosa said, of the retired Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town.
"He placed his extensive academic achievements at the service of our struggle and at the service of the cause for social and economic justice the world over.
"From the pavements of resistance in South Africa to the pulpits of the world's great cathedrals and places of worship, and the prestigious setting of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, the Arch distinguished himself as a non-sectarian, inclusive champion of universal human rights."
GPs and pharmacists to receive more booster doses
The nation's GPs and pharmacists will receive an additional 180,000 booster doses in the first week of January, to keep up with soaring demand.
A spokesperson from the Department of Health told Nine News providers will receive around 120 extra doses, in addition to their existing orders.
"This week was a record week of deliveries, with 1.7 million doses delivered," the spokesperson said.
READ MORE: Sydney lab tells more than 400 COVID-positive people they are negative
"To meet increasing demand, primary care orders are being increased for delivery in the first week of January.
"Further measures are also in place to help providers who may require urgent deliveries over the Christmas and New Year period."
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) announced it would reduce the timeframe between second and third doses from four months to three months from January 4.
The interval will be slashed again from four months to three months on January 31, opening the rollout to 16 million people.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt told reporters on Friday there is enough vaccine supply in the country to meet increasing demand.
"We have 20 million vaccines that are in the country now," Minister Hunt said.
READ MORE: NSW residents urged only to get tested if sick as clinics overwhelmed
"More than five million that are in field, on the basis of orders.
"We've provided to the states and territories, pharmacies and GP's, all of their orders.
"They're working on a high-volume access, and if more is requested, we are happy to provide it."
More than 1.1 million vaccines are already on hand across vaccination sites in New South Wales.
Sydney General Practitioner Kean-Seng Lim told Nine News he is concerned about the strain on the workforce.
READ MORE: Sydney COVID-19 testing in 'meltdown' as clinics close on public holiday
"Come the first week of the New Year, our problem is going to be finding people to actually deliver it, since half our staff are off as close contacts and COVID-19 cases," he said.
States will also begin ramping up mass vaccination clinics in 2022.
State-run vaccine hubs dropped from 957 in November to 699, with some closing as vaccine targets were met.
The country's leaders agreed the hubs need to scale up again to meet booster demand.
Covid 19 Delta outbreak: Auckland Christmas partygoers urged to get tested immediately
Partygoers who attended an Otara Christmas party are being asked to self-isolate and immediately get tested after a guest tested positive for Covid-19.A Christmas party held on Thursday December 23 at East Tamaki Community Hall…