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October
New Zealand welcomes back indigenous remains from Austria
Written by Nur YasminNew Zealand on Sunday welcomed back the remains of around 64 indigenous New Zealanders that were stolen in the 19th century and sent back by Austria after more than 70 years of negotiations.
In a ceremony at the country's national museum, Te Papa, a few hundred people gathered to witness a procession as the remains were carried in white boxes and placed on a stage and covered with straw blankets and fur.
Indigenous men and women, sitting around the boxes, spoke and sang in Maori to mark the return of the remains.
The Maori and Moriori skeletal remains, including skulls without mandibles, craniums, loose mandibles and maxilla fragments, were largely collected by Austrian taxidermist and grave robber Andreas Reischek from 1877 to 1889.
New Zealand's national museum Te Papa has run a programme to repatriate skeletal remains from institutions since 2003. More than 600 remains have since been returned, including 111 Moriori and two Maori from London's Natural History Museum in July.
"It is always a spiritual relief and privilege to welcome back our ancestors who have been victims of such wrongdoing," Pou Temara, chair of Te Papa's Repatriation Advisory Panel, said in a statement this week ahead of the return of the remains. (Reuters)
October
Australian government slams Optus for cybersecurity breach
Written by Nur Yasmin
The Australian government on Sunday levelled its harshest criticism yet against Optus, the second-biggest telecoms company, for a cybersecurity breach that affected the equivalent of 40% of the country's population.
The government blamed Optus, owned by Singapore Telecommunications (STEL.SI), for the breach, which affected 10 million accounts, urging the company to speed up its notification to 10,200 customers whose personal information was released in one of the country's biggest cybersecurity breaches.
"We should not be in the position that we're in, but Optus has put us here," Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil told a televised news conference from Melbourne. "It's really important now that Australians take as many precautions as they can to protect themselves against financial crime."
Optus said on Sunday it was working closely with federal and state government agencies to determine which customers need to take any action but was still seeking further advice on the status of customers whose details had expired.
"We continue to work constructively with governments and their various authorities to reduce the impact on our customers," an Optus spokesperson said in emailed comments.
The spokesperson did not respond to a question on whether Optus had identified how the breach occurred.
The company ran a full-page apology in major Australian newspapers on Saturday for the "devastating" breach that it first reported on Sept. 22. An unidentified person later posted online that they had released personal details of 10,000 Optus customers and would keep doing so daily until they received $1 million.
Australian police's operation to find the person or people behind the breach at Optus is "progressing well", O'Neil said, adding that police would provide an update this week.
However she said Optus needed to step up its efforts to call, not just email, people whose identification data was released online to let them know they are at risk.
Saying now was "a time for real vigilance for Australians", O'Neil urged those who had been notified to cancel their passports or other identification cards and get fresh identification documents as soon as possible.
Five days after being requested, Optus had not handed over information to the government about customers who had provided their Medicare health care cards or other social services information for identification purposes for Optus accounts, said Government Services Minister Bill Shorten.
"We call upon Optus to understand that this breach has introduced systemic problems for 10 million Australians in terms of their personal identification," he told reporters at the joint media conference.
"We know that Optus is trying to do what it can, but having said that, it's not enough," Shorten said. "It's now a matter of protecting Australians' privacy from criminals."
O'Neil said Australia needs to reform its cybersecurity laws to give the government stronger powers to respond to cyber security emergency incidents. (Reuters)
October
U.S. FAA upgrading Malaysia's air safety rating
Written by Nur Yasmin
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is upgrading Malaysia's air safety rating nearly three years after it took action to restrict the country's airlines from adding new flights to the United States, a person briefed on the matter said on Saturday.
In November 2019, the FAA lowered Malaysia from Category 1 to Category 2, meaning Malaysian airlines were restricted to current levels of any existing U.S. service and subject to additional inspections at U.S. airports.
The Category 1 rating means Malaysia meets international air safety standards. The FAA said 90% of countries rated achieved Category 1.
The Associated Press quoted Malaysian Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong as saying the upgrade would will bolster tourism in the country.
"With the return to Category 1, our airlines can now mount new flights to the U.S. and have code sharing with American carriers," the AP quoted Wee as saying. "This is good news after the COVID-19 pandemic."
On Monday, the FAA said it would work with countries when it sees early indications that civil aviation authorities are not meeting safety standards.
The FAA previously would offer assistance only after the country had been downgraded. Now the agency will be able to work with a country to address developing safety risks before downgrading it.
The FAA said if it notifies a country of a safety concern it will limit direct service and code sharing by foreign operators to current levels as it reviews whether to issue a downgrade.
In May 2021, the FAA downgraded Mexico's aviation safety rating to Category 2, an action barring Mexican carriers from adding new U.S. flights and limits the ability of airlines to carry out marketing agreements with one another. (Reuters)
October
Greece says it's open to talks with Turkey once provocations end
Written by Nur Yasmin
Greece wants to have a constructive dialogue with Turkey based on international law but its Aegean neighbour must halt its unprecedented escalation of provocations, the Greek foreign minister said on Sunday.
The two countries - North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies but historic foes - have been at odds for decades over a range of issues, including where their continental shelves start and end, overflights in the Aegean Sea and divided Cyprus.
"It is up to Turkey to choose if it will come to such a dialogue or not, but the basic ingredient must be a de-escalation," Nikos Dendias told Proto Thema newspaper in an interview.
Last month, the European Union voiced concern over statements by Turkish President Tayip Erdogan accusing Greece, an EU member, of occupying demilitarised islands in the Aegean and saying Turkey was ready to "do what is necessary" when the time came.
"The one responsible for a de-escalation is the one causing the escalation, which is Turkey," Dendias said.
He blamed Ankara for increased provocations with a rhetoric of false and legally baseless claims, "even personal insults".
Turkey has sharply increased its overflights and violations of Greek airspace, Dendias told the paper, adding that its behaviour seems to be serving a "revisionist narrative" that it promotes consistently.
He said Turkish claims that Greece cannot be an equal interlocutor diplomatically, politically and militarily violates the basic rule of foreign relations - the principle of euality among nations.
"It is an insulting approach that ranks various countries as more or less equal," Dendias said. (Reuters)
October
King Charles, stepping back from campaigning, will not go to Egypt climate summit
Written by Nur Yasmin
Britain's King Charles will not attend a world leaders' climate change summit in Egypt next month, a royal source said on Sunday, as the new monarch steps back from his previous high-profile campaigning roles.
Buckingham Palace sought government advice about the United Nations COP27 summit and it was unanimously agreed that it would not be right for Charles to visit in person for what would be his first overseas trip as sovereign, the source said.
There had been no confirmation that Charles would attend the meeting before he became king last month following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, the source said.
Charles spoke at the opening ceremony of the COP26 summit in Glasgow in 2021, which he described as a "last chance saloon" to save the world from climate change, after the queen pulled out on doctors' advice.
The Sunday Times newspaper reported that Charles had been told not to go to Egypt by new Prime Minister Liz Truss, dashing his plans to deliver a speech at the conference.
The newspaper quoted a Downing Street source as saying a recent meeting between Charles and Truss had been cordial and there had not been a row.
The new king campaigned for the environment and other issues while heir but he said last month that it would no longer be possible "to give so much of my time and energies to the charities and issues for which I care so deeply". (Reuters)
October
Ukraine advance in Lyman shows it can push back Russian forces, NATO chief says
Written by Nur Yasmin
Ukraine's capture of a city within territory of Russian President Vladimir Putin's declared annexation demonstrates that Ukrainians are making progress and able to push back against Russian forces, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Sunday.
"We have seen that they have been able to take a new town, Lyman, and that demonstrates that the Ukrainians are making progress, are able to push back the Russian forces because of the courage, because of their bravery, their skills, but of course also because of the advanced weapons that the United States and other allies are providing," Stoltenberg said in an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press."
The best way to counter Russia's proclaimed annexation of parts of Ukraine is to continue supporting the government in Kyiv, Stoltenberg said.
Asked about Ukraine's application for accelerated membership in the Western defense alliance, Stoltenberg said "any decision on membership has to be taken by consensus all 30 allies have to agree to make such a decision."
NATO supports the investigation into the apparent sabotage of Russia's Nord Stream pipelines that run from Russia to Europe under the Baltic Sea, the NATO chief said.
"Any deliberate attack on critical NATO infrastructure will be met with a firm and united response from an angle," Stoltenberg said. (Reuters)
October
Burkina Faso coup leader says situation 'is under control'
Written by Nur Yasmin
Burkina Faso's self-declared military leader Captain Ibrahim Traore said on Sunday that order was being restored in the country, after violent protests against the French embassy and days of fighting as his faction moved to topple the government.
Traore's team urged people to refrain from acts of vandalism at the embassy, targeted by protesters after an officer involved in the ongoing coup said France had sheltered President Paul-Henri Damiba at a French military base in the West African country and that he was planning a counter-offensive.
The French foreign ministry denied the base had hosted Damiba after his ouster on Friday. Damiba also denied he was at the base, saying the reports were a deliberate manipulation of public opinion. His whereabouts remain unknown.
"We want to inform the population that the situation is under control and order is being restored," an army officer said in a statement broadcast on national television. Traore, an army captain, stood beside the officer and was flanked by other armed and masked soldiers.
The city was mostly calm on Sunday after sporadic gunfire across the capital throughout Saturday between opposing factions of the army.
"We invite you to continue with your activities and refrain from all acts of violence and vandalism... notably that against the French embassy and the French military base," the officer loyal to Traore said, urging people to remain calm.
Damiba himself led a coup earlier this year against a civilian government that had lost support over rising violence by Islamist extremists. Damiba's failure to stop attacks by the militant groups had led to anger in the ranks of the armed forces in the former French-protectorate.
The statement came after hundreds of people, some waving Russian flags and supporting Traore's takeover gathered in protest in front of the French embassy on Saturday and Sunday, throwing stones and burning tires and debris on Saturday and early on Sunday.
Anti-French demonstrators also gathered and stoned the French Cultural Centre in the Southern town of Bobo-Dioulasso. French business interests were also vandalised on Sunday morning.
Burkina Faso has become the epicentre of attacks carried out by groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State, after violence that began in neighbouring Mali in 2012 spread to other countries south of the Sahara Desert.
Thousands have been killed in raids on rural communities and millions have been forced to flee despite Damiba's promise to tackle insecurity following his coup in January. This week, at least 11 soldiers died in an attack in northern Burkina Faso. Dozens of civilians are still missing following the attack. (Reuters)
October
UK PM Truss says cabinet was not informed of plans to scrap top rate of tax
Written by Nur Yasmin
British Prime Minister Liz Truss said on Sunday her cabinet of top ministers was not informed in advance that the government planned to abolish the top rate of tax, adding it was a decision taken by finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng.
The government sparked turmoil in financial markets last month after Kwarteng delivered a plan to cut taxes, mainly benefitting the wealthiest, without detailing the impact on the public finances or how ministers would reform the economy to spur growth.
Truss's comment that it was Kwarteng's decision to remove the top rate of income tax is the first sign Truss might be trying to distance herself from her chancellor. However, she also reiterated the government was sticking with the policy.
Asked whether all her cabinet was told of the move, Truss told the BBC: "No, no we didn’t. It was a decision that the chancellor made."
Truss said: "When budgets are developed, they are developed in a very confidential way. They are very market sensitive. Of course, the cabinet is briefed, but it is never the case on budgets that they are created by the whole cabinet."
According to the Sunday Times, Kwarteng attended a champagne reception with hedge fund managers at the home of a Conservative donor on the same day he delivered his mini-budget.
One source told the newspaper that guests told Kwarteng to "double down" on his radical tax cutting plans.
Truss said her finance minister met business people all the time as "that's his job".
The opposition Liberal Democrats called for an official investigation into what happened.
Jake Berry, chairman of the Conservatives, said he also attended the event, when the finance minister gave a short speech that did not include any insight into the government's future plans.
Berry said Kwarteng in his speech at the event "did not give any insight into future plans and I’m sure in terms of his private conversations he didn’t give any". (Reuters)
October
U.S. FAA upgrading Malaysia's air safety rating
Written by Nur Yasmin
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is upgrading Malaysia's air safety rating nearly three years after it took action to restrict the country's airlines from adding new flights to the United States, a person briefed on the matter said on Saturday.
In November 2019, the FAA lowered Malaysia from Category 1 to Category 2, meaning Malaysian airlines were restricted to current levels of any existing U.S. service and subject to additional inspections at U.S. airports.
The Category 1 rating means Malaysia meets international air safety standards. The FAA said 90% of countries rated achieved Category 1.
The Associated Press quoted Malaysian Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong as saying the upgrade would will bolster tourism in the country.
"With the return to Category 1, our airlines can now mount new flights to the U.S. and have code sharing with American carriers," the AP quoted Wee as saying. "This is good news after the COVID-19 pandemic."
On Monday, the FAA said it would work with countries when it sees early indications that civil aviation authorities are not meeting safety standards.
The FAA previously would offer assistance only after the country had been downgraded. Now the agency will be able to work with a country to address developing safety risks before downgrading it.
The FAA said if it notifies a country of a safety concern it will limit direct service and code sharing by foreign operators to current levels as it reviews whether to issue a downgrade.
In May 2021, the FAA downgraded Mexico's aviation safety rating to Category 2, an action barring Mexican carriers from adding new U.S. flights and limits the ability of airlines to carry out marketing agreements with one another. (Reuters)
October
Flag raisings and burnings in Taiwan as some mark China's national day
Written by Nur Yasmin
Two small Taiwanese groups at far ends of the debate over relations with Beijing marked China's national day on Saturday with flag raisings and flag burnings, very opposite responses at a time of rising tension over the Taiwan Strait.
Oct. 1 marks when Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China in 1949, with the defeated Republic of China government fleeing to Taiwan at the end of that year and where it remains to this day, neither recognising the other.
China's national day is not officially marked in any way in democratically-governed Taiwan, which celebrates its national day, the founding of the Republic of China, on Oct. 10.
But some small groups in Taiwan do mark China's national day, with either pride at being Chinese or fury at Beijing's threats against the island, especially after China staged war games near Taiwan in August.
In a rural part of Tainan in the south, the Taiwan People's Communist Party gathered about 200 people, mostly elderly, to sing China's national anthem and raise the country's flag on what the party referred to in a news release as "a sacred part of China's territory".
Lin Te-wang, the chairman of the party which has no elected officials and is very fringe, told Reuters that China was no threat, despite the recent war games which were condemned by all of Taiwan's mainstream parties.
"Military exercises are good for Taiwan because they show the majesty of China's military force internationally," Lin, 67, said.
At the other end of the spectrum, the pro-independence Taiwan Statebuilding Party burned a Chinese flag on Saturday on a boat off Taiwan's south coast in an area of the sea where China staged its August drills, shouting slogans including "protect Taiwan to the death".
Party Chairman Chen Yi-chi told Reuters on the boat in the Taiwan Strait that burning the flag was not provocative.
"How can burning the flag be extreme? If you want to show your resistance to defending Taiwan now, if burning the flag is extreme, what will you do when the artillery fire comes?"
The party lost its only member of parliament last year after he was voted out in a recall election.
China considers Taiwan to be part of the People's Republic, over the strenuous objections of the government in Taipei, which says Beijing has no right to claim it or speak for the Taiwanese people. (Reuters)