Tag Archives: oceania

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'Man of the hole': Last Brazilian Indigenous tribe member dies

The last member of a Brazilian Indigenous tribe who was dubbed "the loneliest man in the world" has died after spending almost three decades in complete isolation.

The man, who was also known as the "man of the hole", had lived in total isolation for 26 years on the Tanaru indigenous land which is deep in Brazil's Rondonia state.

The man was given his nickname due to his habit of digging deep holes, some of which were used to trap animals while others appeared to be for hiding in.

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The last member of a Brazilian Indigenous tribe who was dubbed "the loneliest man in the world" has died after spending almost three decades in complete isolation.

The man had resisted all attempts to be contacted, though authorities continued to monitor him from afar, occasionally leaving out supplies for him.

Survival International said the rest of his tribe was wiped out by several attacks since the 1970s, mainly from cattle ranchers and land grabbers.

"No outsider knew this man's name, or even very much about his tribe and with his death the genocide of his people is complete," Fiona Watson, Survival International's research and advocacy director, said.

"For this was indeed a genocide – the deliberate wiping out of an entire people by cattle ranchers hungry for land and wealth."

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Brazil Amazon deforestation

The man's body was found lying in a hammock in a hut by officials of Brazil's Indigenous Affairs Agency, Funai, on August 23. There were no signs of struggle, violence or the presence of other people in the area.

He died of natural causes, and his body will undergo a forensic examination by the Federal Police, according to Funai.

It's believed he was 60-years-old.

The last known video of the "man of the hole" was released by Funai in 2018, which appeared to show him hacking at a tree with an axe-like tool.

Survival International said his abandoned campsites left clues to his lifestyle where he planted crops including corn and papaya and made houses of straw and thatch.

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COVID-19 rule challengers ordered to pay government court costs

A group of Australians who challenged the constitutional validity of COVID-19 measures will have to pay more than $200,000 to cover the legal costs of multiple governments.

The group was led by New South Wales woman Cienna Knowles who claimed she was "non-consensually double-vaccinated".

She was hospitalised as a result of adverse vaccine side effects and lost her job and other opportunities, she said in the claim dismissed by Federal Court Justice Debra Mortimer in June.

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Nurse holding a needle. Injection. Vaccine.

The case was brought against the Commonwealth, Victoria, NSW, Tasmania, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland.

They sought a combined $363,492.67 lump sum to cover their legal costs after the case was dismissed.

Justice Mortimer has instead ordered they be paid $214,023.

The challengers had been given a reasonable opportunity to consider discontinuing the case, but there was a public interest in their argument which warranted a discount on the full amount, she said.

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She also noted the solicitor for the group had advertised online for donations.

"We have been preparing legal challenges to help bring about sense and reason to Australia's COVID-19 response – your help and generosity will assist legal costs in maybe one of the biggest challenges for freedom in the history of Australia," one ad said.

"Unity and courage in our current situation for future generations depends upon it."

It wasn't clear if any money was raised, or if so, what it had been spent on, the judge added.

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Police direct motorists at the Coolangatta border check point in the Gold Coast.

Alongside Knowles, challengers included Melbourne electrical contractor John Harding who claimed he was unable to work in the construction industry unless he submitted himself to vaccination, and hairdresser Murat Temel who said he could not travel through NSW.

Queensland truck driver and businessman Antoine Sandroussi said he "submitted himself to vaccination in circumstances that amounted to coercion, and without the giving of prior medical consent".

They challenged the validity of lockdown measures and restrictions, arguing they were invalid because they contravened sections of the Constitution or were legally unreasonable.

In dismissing the case, Justice Mortimer said it had many flaws.

"Their case is a general attack on the government response across Australia to the COVID-19 pandemic through the use of a vaccination program," she said.

It was practically impossible in circumstances like a pandemic for a government to implement a responsive public health measure that causes or does no harm, she said.

"The entire situation involves weighing the potential harm apprehended from the spread of the COVID-19 virus against the impacts on a community of measures designed to minimise that harm, recognising the harm caused by the virus cannot be avoided altogether," she said.

Breakdown of costs awarded

Commonwealth – $50,000

NSW – $39,023

Victoria – $50,000

Tasmania – $15,000

Western Australia – $20,000

Northern Territory – $20,000

Queensland – $20,000