The Centralian Advocate Fri 28 May 2021
Centralian Advocate; NewspaperNT
2021-05-28
Made available via the Publications (Legal Deposit) Act 2004 (NT).
English
Community newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Alice Springs; Tennant Creek (N.T.) -- Newspapers; Alice Springs (N.T.) -- Newspapers; Australia, Central -- Newspapers
News Corp Australia
Darwin
Copyright. Made available by the publisher under licence.
News Corp Australia
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/838630
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/838631
FRIDAY MAY 28 2021 WORLD 29 V1 - NTNE01Z01MA R1 LONDON: Britains government disastrously failed the public by mishandling its coronavirus pandemic response, former top adviser Dominic Cummings told politicians on Wednesday, calling Prime Minister Boris Johnson unfit for the job. Tens of thousands of people died who didnt need to die, Mr Cummings, an abrasive political strategist who masterminded Brexit, said in an excoriating account that blamed senior ministers and officials, including himself, for getting it wrong at the outset. Mr Cummings said Mr Johnson was recklessly insouciant in the early days of the crisis in February 2020, even volunteering to get infected with Covid-19 live on television to show there was nothing to fear. But he said that even after nearly dying himself from the virus weeks later, the Prime Minister declined to learn from mistakes and ignored scientists advice in September to introduce a second lockdown, leading to many more deaths over winter. Covid-19 has claimed nearly 128,000 lives in Britain the fifth-highest official death toll in the world, and the highest in Europe. The truth is that senior ministers, senior officials, senior advisers like me fell disastrously short of the standards that the public has a right to expect of its government in a crisis, Mr Cummings told a parliamentary committee. He described political leadership during the crisis as lions led by donkeys over and over again. When the public needed us most the government failed, he said, apologising to all the families of those who died unnecessarily. In response, Mr Johnson told parliament he took full responsibility but insisted decision-making during the pandemic had been appallingly difficult. Johnson blasted for virus failings US reels in wake of another shooting SAN JOS: A public transit worker shot dead eight people at a California rail yard on Wednesday before turning his gun on himself as police arrived, officials said, in the latest mass shooting to hit the US. Multiple victims were also wounded in the attack at the train maintenance compound in San Jose, just south of San Francisco. The incident has once again shone a spotlight on the countrys gun-control debate. What the hell is wrong with us, and when are we going to come to grips with this? said California Governor Gavin Newsom at a press conference, where he praised the swift response of law enforcement. Police had rushed to inv e s t i g a t e m u l t i p l e early-morning 911 calls r e p o r t i n g g u n s h o t s , and entered the compound during an active shooting, said Russell Davis, a Santa Clara County Sheriffs deputy. They did not exchange gunfire with the shooter, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. I know for sure that when the suspect knew that law en forcement was there he took his own life, said Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith. Our deputies were right there. Bomb squads were deployed after dogs detected some type of explosives material at the crime scene, and were continuing to scour the site on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Davis said. US President Joe Biden (pictured) called the incident a horrific tragedy and ordered flags to be flown at halfstaff, saying in a statement: There are at least eight families who will never be whole again. Once again, I urge Congress to take immediate action and heed the call of the American people, including the vast majority of gun owners, to help end this epidemic of gun violence in America. Every life that is taken by a bullet pierces the soul of our nation. We can, and we must, do more. The suspect identified by multiple media outlets as Samuel Cassidy was an employee of the Valley Transportation Authority, which provides rail and bus services for San Jose, a Silicon Valley tech hub of almost 1 million people. Victims including VTA employees were found shot in two different buildings on the site. The authoritys chairman Glenn Hendricks called the shooting a horrible tragedy. Dozens of police cars and fire engines lining the streets near the rail yard were joined at the scene by FBI officials. Special agent Craig Fair warned the fairly sizeable crime scene would take a significant amount of time to process. Nearby, anxious families of employees waited at a county building for word about their relatives. This is a very dark moment for our city and for our community, said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. Many of those killed or wounded were essential workers who had helped during the pandemic. Law enforcement officers move through a light rail yard in San Jose, California, after the shooting. Picture: Getty Images/AFP CABLE CARS BRAKE OFF ROME: Three managers of a cable car that crashed, killing 14 passengers, have been arrested after allegedly admitting to disabling an emergency brake. Luigi Nerini, 56, owner and head of the company running the Mount Mottarone cable car in northern Italy, and two employees were held by police after the crash on Sunday. Investigators said the three admitted disabling the brake because it was faulty. Was the brake deactivated deliberately? Yes, yes, they admitted it, Alberto Cicognani, a police official, said on Wednesday. There were malfunctions in the cable car. Major paper calls for end to Olympics TOKYO: One of Japans biggest newspapers has become the first Olympic sponsor to call for the cancellation of the Tokyo Games, saying that the decision to press ahead during a global pandemic is beyond reason and denouncing the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for self-righteousness. The Asahi Shimbun, which sells 4.9 million copies a day, is the latest Japanese institution to demand the cancellation of the Olympics due to begin on July 23 and Paralympics. The editorial comes a day after the US warned its citizens not to visit Japan because of a fourth wave of the pandemic, which is overwhelming hospitals in parts of the country and has forced Tokyo and other big cities to adopt a state of emergency. It is simply beyond reason to hold the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, the centre-left Asahi wrote. We demand that prime minister Yoshihide Suga evaluate the situation calmly and objectively, and decide against holding the Olympics and Paralympics this summer. Opinion polls show that up to 80 per cent of Japanese people are against the Olympics going ahead The newspaper said it was inevitable the state of emergency would have to be extended beyond its planned expiry at the end of the month. The wreckage.