Tag Archives: Oceania

World

How do you lose a radioactive capsule? Australian investigators are wondering too

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Brisbane, Australia
CNN
 — 

The discovery of a tiny lost radioactive capsule beside a remote highway in Western Australia raises many questions – not least how it escaped layers of radiation-proof packaging loaded onto a moving truck.

It’s one of the many puzzling aspects of a case investigators will examine in the coming weeks as they try to piece together the timeline of the capsule’s movements from January 12, when it was packaged for transport, to February 1, when a recovery team found it by the side of the road.

The capsule – just 8 millimeters by 6 millimeters – was used in a density gauge fitted to a pipe at Rio Tinto’s Gudai-Darri iron ore mine to measure the flow of material through the feeder.

Rio Tinto said in a statement Monday the capsule was packaged for transit to Perth, 1,400 kilometers (870 miles away), with its presence inside the package confirmed by a Geiger counter before it was transported by a third-party contractor.

Normally, the trip would take more than 12 hours by road, but roughly two hours in, the capsule exited the vehicle as it traveled south, and somehow crossed one lane of traffic, to end up two meters (6.5 feet) from the northbound side of the two-lane highway.

Lauren Steen, general manager of Radiation Services WA, a consultancy that writes radiation management plans, said industry insiders were just as baffled as the public when they heard the capsule was missing.

“The whole team were scratching our head. We couldn’t figure out what had happened,” said Steen, whose company was not involved in its disappearance.

“If the source had been placed in a certified package and transported under all of the requirements of the code of practice, then it’s an extremely unlikely event – one-in-a-million,” she said.

The truck thought to be carrying the capsule arrived in Perth on January 16, four days after its departure from the Gudai-Darri iron ore mine. But it wasn’t until January 25, when workers from SGS Australia went to unpack the gauge for inspection, that it was discovered missing.

In a statement, SGS Australia said it had been hired by Rio Tinto to package the capsule but it had nothing to do with its transportation, which was carried out by a “specialist transporter.”

“We performed the contracted service to package the equipment at the mine site and unpackage it following transportation using qualified personnel for our customer in accordance with all standards and regulations,” it said.

“The transportation of the package, organized by our client and delegated to a specialist transporter, was not within the scope of SGS services. Our personnel noticed the loss of the source at our Perth laboratory when opening the package and reported this incident immediately.”

The name of the company contracted to transport the package has not been released.

The missing capsule triggered a six-day search along a stretch of the Great Northern Highway. Then on Wednesday morning, a car fitted with special equipment traveling south of the small town of Newman detected a higher radiation reading. Handheld devices were then used to hone in on the capsule nestled in the dirt.

In Australia, each state has its own laws regarding the handling of radioactive substances and codes of practice that comply with guidelines set by the Australian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA), a government body that works closely with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and World Health Organization (WHO).

In Western Australia, the rules are governed by the Radiation Safety Act 1975, which Steen says is well overdue for review. “It hasn’t been rewritten since the 70s, so I think that kind of speaks for itself,” she said.

Steen said over the decades technological advancements had made the use of radiation sources within mining equipment much safer – and because it was safer, devices were being used more frequently. As of 2021, over 150 projects were operating in Western Australia, the hub of the country’s mining exports, according to the state’s Chamber of Minerals and Energy.

Under the Radiation Safety Act 1975, only specially trained and licensed operators can package radioactive substances, but different rules apply to contractors hired to transport it, Steen said.

“Any transport company can transport radioactive material provided they have got the license to do so,” she said.

Under the act that license can be obtained by attending a one-day course and passing a test certified and approved by the regulator.

The licensee must have oversight of a transportation plan submitted to the regulator but does not have to supervise the journey in person. There are no rules about the type of vehicles used for transport.

Steen says clearly something went wrong – and she hopes the results of the investigation will be shared with the radiation community so they can avoid such issues in future.

Discussion has already started about the need for tougher penalties – in WA, mishandling radioactive substances carries a fine of just 1,000 Australian dollars ($714) – a figure described as “ridiculously low” by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to reporters on Wednesday.

The rules around packaging radiation sources depend on how much radiation they emit. In some cases, the device could be encased in three layers. In the case of the capsule, the gauge could be considered one layer of protection before it was placed into an “overpack,” a container that was likely bolted shut.

In a statement, DFES said when the package was opened the gauge was found to be broken, with one of the four mounting bolts missing. Referring to the capsule, the statement added, “the source itself and all screws on the gauge were also missing.”

One theory investigators may examine is if the gauge broke and the capsule fell out of the overpack through a hole used to secure the lid.

It’s expected to be several weeks before the Radiological Council submits its report to the WA health minister. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto is carrying out its own investigation.

CEO Simon Trott said the company would be willing to reimburse the government for costs associated with the search – if requested.

WA Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said the offer was appreciated but the government would wait for the outcome of the investigation to apportion blame.

He said he didn’t know how much the search had cost but at least 100 people were involved including police, firefighters, health department and defence force personnel.

Staff from the National Emergency Management Agency, the Australian Nuclear and Science Technology Organization and the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency also took part.

On Thursday, relieved DFES officials released new images of the capsule being taken to Perth where it will be safely held in a facility.

This time, it traveled in a convoy of enclosed white vehicles – with big stickers warning of the presence of a radioactive substance.

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World

Radioactive capsule missing in Western Australia, search underway

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CNN
 — 

Officials have warned the public of the risks in touching a small capsule containing a radioactive substance that was lost during transportation in Western Australia.

The silver, round capsule, which measures about a quarter of an inch in diameter and is about a third of an inch tall, contains a small quantity of radioactive Caesium-137, a substance used within gauges in mining operations. Australia’s Department of Health has warned of the material’s serious health consequences.

The capsule left a mine site north of the town of Newman by road on January 12, according to a statement released by Western Australia’s Department of Fire & Emergency Services (DFES) on Saturday.

It was being sent to the northeastern suburbs of Perth for repairs. The package holding the capsule arrived in Perth on January 16 and was unloaded and kept in a secure radiation store.

However, when the package was opened for inspection on Wednesday, the gauge was found to be broken apart with screws missing – and the capsule was not there.

Western Australia police notified DFES and the Hazard Management Agency that evening. A search is underway to find the capsule and safely contain it, according to DFES Country North chief superintendent David Gill.

“A multi-agency Incident Management Team, comprised of DFES, Department of Health, WA Police and other subject matter experts, are confirming the exact route and stops made during the journey from north of Newman,” he said in a statement on Friday.

“The start and finish of the transportation journey – the mine site north of Newman and the transport depot in the north-eastern suburbs of Perth – were among the locations searched” on Thursday and Friday, he added. “We are also combing roads and other areas in the search zone.”

The emergency services warned of a radioactive substance risk in parts of the Pilbara, Midwest Gascoyne, Goldfields-Midlands and Perth Metropolitan regions.

Exposure to Caesium-137 could cause radiation burns or radiation sickness. However, risk to the general community is relatively low, officials said.

“If people see the capsule or something that looks similar, stay away from it and keep others away from it too,” said Dr. Andrew Robertson, chief health officer and Radiological Council chair, in a statement on Friday.

“Do not touch or pick it up. The public is asked to report it immediately by calling 13 DFES (13 33 37),” he added, advising anyone who touches or goes close to the material for a long period of time to seek medical care.

“If you are very close to the material or touching it, the radiation risk increases immensely and could cause serious damage to your health, including causing radiation burns to the skin,” Robertson said.

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Business

Egg shortage sends New Zealanders rushing to buy their own hens

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Hong Kong
CNN
 — 

Eggs have soared in cost around the world over the past year as avian flu decimated chicken flocks and fallout from Russia’s war with Ukraine raised the prices of energy and animal feed.

In the United States, egg prices have far surpassed the increase in other grocery items, soaring nearly 60% in the 12 months to December compared to the year before. In Japan, wholesale prices have reached a record high.

In New Zealand, which consumes more eggs per person than most countries, the squeeze has been exacerbated by a change in farming regulations. And rising costs have sparked a frenzy, with people hunting for hens online so they can secure their own supplies of the pantry staple.

On Tuesday, popular local auction site Trade Me told CNN that searches for chickens, and equipment related to caring for them, had spiked 190% so far this month, compared to the same period a month ago.

“Since the start of January, we have seen over 65,000 searches for chickens and other chicken-related items, like feeders, coops and food,” said Millie Silvester, a spokesperson for the company.

The shortage has also caused a particularly acute headache for bakers in the country.

“All the public are now trying to buy chickens for home because they can’t get eggs,” said Ron van Til, a bakery owner near the city of Christchurch, who has had to adjust how he makes his cakes and muffins.

Van Til said his sister was selling “four brand new chickens” on auction through Trade Me, fetching more than double the usual price.

The trend has prompted animal welfare advocates to warn against making impulse buys.

“Chickens live for a long time,” said Gabby Clezy, CEO of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in New Zealand. “They live from eight to 10 years, sometimes even longer depending on the breed.”

Clezy also noted that hens do not produce eggs their entire lives, and their laying habits are dependent on factors including their age and local climate.

“So if people are getting chickens solely because [they think] they’ll have a permanent supply of eggs, that just isn’t the case,” she said. “We’re asking people to consider them as companion animals, which they are.”

Trade Me has also urged customers on its marketplace to think through any purchases.

“It’s important that our members are aware of the responsibilities that come with owning chickens, and are well set up to care for them,” Silvester said in a statement.

Health experts are weighing in, too. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), anyone signing up for a backyard coop should take special care when handling the animals and their eggs, particularly because of the risk of germs associated with salmonella.

New Zealand’s egg shortage has been linked to a long anticipated change in farming law, which took effect on January 1 this year.

The law prohibits the production of eggs from chickens kept in conventional or “battery cages” — typically cramped metal spaces that do not provide adequate welfare for hens, according to SPCA.

That’s why in 2012, the government announced a ban on such facilities.

But “a 10-year transition period away from conventional cages was introduced, to allow egg producers time to shift farming practices,” Peter Hyde, a representative for New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries, told CNN in a statement when asked about the current shortage.

 “Egg producers had the option to move to colony cages, barns and free-range systems,” added Hyde, the ministry’s acting national manager of animal welfare and national animal identification and tracing compliance.

Hyde said that over the last 18 months, the ministry had “been in regular contact with operators, and visited farms needing to transition.”

Even with the long lead time, however, the ban has caused supply snags, according to some businesses.

Foodstuffs, a New Zealand supermarket chain, recently placed temporary limits on how many eggs each customer can buy.

“It’s a significant change for the egg supply industry,” Emma Wooster, the company’s head of public relations, told CNN in a statement. “We’re working with egg suppliers to increase our offer in other types of eggs.”

Countdown, another major grocery retailer, said while it did not currently have limits on egg sales, it would encourage customers to “only buy what they need” to ensure enough supply for everyone.

Other businesses have been forced to switch things up.

Van Til, the bakery owner, said his team had swapped out fresh eggs in recipes for alternative ingredients.

The longtime owner of Rangiora Bakery has seen wholesale prices for fresh eggs shoot up about 50% compared to four months ago, leading him to buy more dried eggs instead.

Van Til also pointed to changes at other local eateries, saying some cafes had started taking certain dishes off their menus so “instead of having five breakfast items [with] eggs, you might only have two.”

“And the customer hopefully will pick up pancakes or waffles,” he added. “Or whatever other offerings you come up with.”

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World

New Zealand’s Education Minister Chris Hipkins is set to replace Jacinda Ardern as PM

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CNN
 — 

Chris Hipkins, New Zealand’s education minister, is set to replace Jacinda Ardern as prime minister, after her shock resignation announcement earlier this week.

Hipkins was the only candidate to be nominated for the leadership of the ruling Labour party, the party announced in a statement on Saturday morning.

“The Labour Party caucus will meet at 1pm on Sunday to endorse the nomination and confirm Chris Hipkins as leader,” Labour Party Whip Duncan Webb said in the statement.

New Zealand’s next general election will be held on October 14.

Ardern said Thursday that she would stand aside for a new leader, saying she doesn’t believe she has the energy to seek reelection in the October polls.

Speaking at a news conference then, Ardern said her term would end by February 7, when she expected a new Labour prime minister will be sworn in – though “depending on the process that could be earlier.”

Hipkins previously oversaw New Zealand’s pandemic management as Covid-19 response minister in Ardern’s cabinet.

According to his official profile, Hipkins first joined the government as senior advisor to two education ministers and later in the office of then-Prime Minister Helen Clark.

He entered Parliament in 2008 and became the spokesperson for education at the beginning of 2013.

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World

Jacinda Ardern: New Zealand PM to resign before upcoming election

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CNN
 — 

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Thursday she will stand aside for a new leader within weeks, saying she doesn’t believe she has the energy to seek re-election in the October polls.

Speaking at a news conference, Ardern said her term would end by February 7, when she expects a new Labour prime minister will be sworn in – though “depending on the process that could be earlier.”

“The decision was my own,” Ardern said. “Leading a country is the most privileged job anyone could ever have, but also the most challenging. You cannot and should not do the job unless you have a full tank, plus a bit in reserve for those unplanned and unexpected challenges.”

“I no longer have enough in the tank to do the job justice,” she added.

When Ardern became prime minister in 2017 at the age of 37, she was New Zealand’s third female leader and one of the youngest leaders in the world. Within a year, she had given birth in office – only the second world leader ever to do so.

– Source:
CNN
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See the moment Jacinda Ardern fired back at reporter’s question about gender

She was re-elected for a second term in 2020, the victory buoyed by her government’s “go hard and go early” approach to the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw New Zealand impose some of the world’s strictest border rules, separating families and shutting out almost all foreigners for almost two years.

On Thursday, Ardern spoke candidly about the toll the job has taken and reflected on the various crises her government has faced, including both the pandemic and the 2019 Christchurch terror attack, which killed 51 people at two mosques.

The attack was a defining moment of Ardern’s leadership, and her rapid response won widespread praise. She swiftly introduced gun law reforms, wore a hijab to show her respect for the Muslim community and publicly said she would never speak the name of the alleged attacker.

“The only interesting angle that you will find is that after going on six years of some big challenges, I am human. Politicians are human,” she said. “We give all that we can for as long as we can, and then it’s time. And for me, it’s time.”

Ardern also highlighted achievements made during her tenure, including legislation on climate change and child poverty. “I wouldn’t want this last five and a half years to simply be about the challenges. For me, it’s also been about the progress,” she said.

Bryce Edwards, a political scientist at New Zealand’s Victoria University of Wellington, said Ardern’s resignation was “shocking” but not a complete surprise.

“She is celebrated throughout the world but her government has plummeted in the polls,” he said.

New Zealand’s next general election will be held on October 14.

A former DJ and lapsed Mormon, Ardern was the closest thing New Zealand had to a rockstar politician, attracting mass rallies and wall-to-wall press coverage. She enjoyed particular support among young people, in a wave dubbed “Jacindamania” during her first election.

That popularity has extended overseas, with Ardern gracing the covers of Vogue and Time magazine, and hosting American TV personality Stephen Colbert at her suburban Auckland home.

But while Ardern gained supporters globally for her fresh and empathetic approach to the role, her popularity has waned in New Zealand in recent years, with some critics arguing she has done little to deliver the transformational government she promised when first elected.

Several polls in late 2022 showed falling support for Ardern and her Labour Party, with some at the lowest level since she took office in 2017, according to CNN affiliate Radio New Zealand.

Edwards, the political analyst, said Ardern’s decision to stand down perhaps spares her a disappointing election result.

“Leaving now is the best thing for her reputation … she will go out on good terms rather than lose the election,” he said.

Edwards said there isn’t “anyone obvious” to replace her, though potential candidates include Police and Education Minister Chris Hipkins, who has a strong relationship with Ardern, and Justice Minister Kiri Allan.

Ardern said she has no firm plans about what she’ll do next – but she is looking forward to spending more time with her family again. “Arguably, they’re the ones that have sacrificed the most out of all of us,” said Ardern.

Addressing her child and fiance, she said: “For Neve, Mom is looking forward to being there when you start school this year, and to Clarke, let’s finally get married.”

Ardern has been engaged to television host Clarke Gayford since 2019.

– Source:
CNN
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A look at Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s profile

Ardern gained a reputation as a trailblazer while in office, speaking frequently about gender equality and women’s rights.

For instance, when announcing her pregnancy in 2018, she underlined women’s ability to balance work with motherhood.

“I am not the first woman to multi-task, I’m not the first woman to work and have a baby, I know these are special circumstances but there will be many women who will have done this well before I have,” she said at the time, with Gayford taking on the role of a stay-at-home dad.

After giving birth, she and Gayford brought their 3-month-old baby to the United Nations General Assembly, with Ardern telling CNN she wanted to “create a path for other women” and help make workplaces more open.

In a 2021 interview with CNN, she reflected on her rise to power, saying: “It was not so long ago that being a woman in politics was a very isolating experience.”

The announcement of her impending resignation on Thursday spurred a wave of support on social media, including from other political leaders, with many pointing out the legacy she is leaving for women in politics.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese tweeted praise for Ardern, saying she “has shown the world how to lead with intellect and strength” and has been “a great friend to me.”

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong also tweeted her best wishes for Ardern, saying she was “a source of inspiration to me and many others.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shared a photo on Twitter of him and Ardern walking together, thanking her for her friendship and “empathic, compassionate, strong, and steady leadership over these past several years.”

“The difference you have made is immeasurable,” he added.

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Science

This egg-laying mammal blows bubbles to cool off

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CNN
 — 

Australia’s echidna has developed a curious way to cool off — blowing bubbles out of its beaklike snout.

The short-beaked echidna is common across Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea and along with the platypus, it’s one of Earth’s few monotremes — mammals who lay eggs — and has been around for millions of years. With a long, sticky tongue, a penchant for snacking on ants and termites, and a body covered in barbless quills called spines, the echidna is also known as a spiny anteater.

Despite being one of the world’s oldest surviving species, the echidna is also thought to be sensitive to heat. Previous research has suggested that a body temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) and air temperature of 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius) is lethal to the animal.

Yet the unusual creature lives in extremely hot, arid regions in Australia, where its very existence seems impossible.

Now, new research has shown how the short-beaked echidna has adapted to beat the heat — something that will become even more crucial as the world warms due to the climate crisis.

Scientists at Curtin University in Australia used thermal vision cameras to conduct their no-contact research on echidnas in Dryandra Woodland and Boyagin Nature Reserve, located about 105 miles (170 kilometers) southeast of Perth.

The researchers captured infrared footage of 124 echidnas for 34 days across 12 months to see how the animals shed heat. The journal Biology Letters published a study detailing the findings on Tuesday.

The researchers didn’t expect to find echidnas blowing mucus bubbles as a way to regulate their internal temperature.

“We observed a number of fascinating methods used by echidnas to manage heat and which allow the animal to be active at much higher temperatures than previously thought,” said lead study author Dr. Christine Cooper, senior lecturer in Curtin’s School of Molecular and Life Sciences, in a statement.

“Echidnas blow bubbles from their nose, which burst over the nose tip and wet it. As the moisture evaporates it cools their blood, meaning their nose tip works as an evaporative window.”

The thermal data also showed that the echidnas can lose heat on their underside and legs — but they can use their spines to retain body heat if need be.

The researchers were surprised to see that the echidnas were active despite the fact that the air temperature was several degrees above what is considered the “lethal” level for the animals.

In the summer, echidnas switch to nocturnal behavior to escape the heat. But they have also been seen sheltering inside hollow logs where the air temperature is well above their limit.

The latest findings suggest that the previous estimates of the high temperatures echidnas can handle were “underestimates,” according to the new study.

“Echidnas can’t pant, sweat or lick to lose heat, so they could be impacted by increasing temperature and our work shows alternative ways that echidnas can lose heat, explaining how they can be active under hotter conditions than previously thought,” Cooper said.

“Understanding the thermal biology of echidnas is also important to predict how they might respond to a warming climate.”

Next, she and her colleagues want to model just how much heat echidnas can shed to predict how they can withstand different environmental conditions and warming.

These hardy animals have proven to be more resilient against high temperatures than previously believed, but it doesn’t mean that increasing temperatures won’t be a challenge for them, Cooper said.

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World

Umar Patek: Bali bomber released on parole in Indonesia after serving half of 20-year sentence

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Jakarta, Indonesia
CNN
 — 

Indonesia has released on parole Umar Patek, a bomb maker in the deadly 2002 Bali attacks, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights said on Wednesday.

Patek, a member of the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah, was jailed for 20 years in 2012 after he was found guilty of mixing bombs that ripped through two Bali nightclubs, killing 202 people, including 88 Australians.

After his release on Wednesday, Patek is required to join a “mentoring program” until April 2030, according to the ministry statement. If any violation is discovered during that time, his parole will be revoked, the ministry added.

In August, Indonesia’s government said that Patek was eligible for parole after his sentence was reduced, a decision that sparked criticism from the victims’ families. His scheduled release was delayed after uproar from Australia.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also criticized the announcement at the time, saying he planned to raise the issue with Indonesia.

Patek, who was also convicted for his role in deadly church bombings in 2000, was granted a series of small reductions to his sentence as part of remissions regularly given to inmates to mark Indonesia’s August 17 independence day.

On Thursday, Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said it would be a “difficult day” for Australians who lost loved ones and relatives in the attacks.

“I think this going to be a very difficult day for many Australians – all Australians – to hear about the release of Umar Patek,” Marles told ABC radio. “I’m particularly thinking right now of the families of those who were killed and injured in the Bali bombings.”

Marles added that the Australian government would continue to engage Indonesian authorities about ensuring Patek was under constant surveillance.

Many members of the Jemaah Islamiyah group, like Patek, trained and fought in Pakistan and Afghanistan in the early 1990s and were deeply influenced by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s teachings.

Patek eluded investigators looking into the 2002 attacks for many years until his capture in January 2011 in Abbottabad, Pakistan, the same village where US Navy SEALs shot and killed bin Laden several months later.

Patek was then extradited to Indonesia, where he was sentenced in 2012.

Three of the masterminds of the Bali bombings – Imam Samudra, Amrozi bin Nurhasyim and Ali Ghufron – were executed in 2008. Patek was the last of the accused to stand trial in Indonesia.

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Science

Plesiosaur: Fossil hunters in Australia discover 100 million-year-old skeleton

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CNN
 — 

The discovery of a giant 100 million-year-old marine reptile’s skeleton in Australia has been hailed by researchers as a breakthrough that may provide vital clues about prehistoric life.

The remains of the 6-meter (19 feet) tall juvenile long-necked plesiosaur, also known as an elasmosaur, were found by a trio of amateur fossil hunters on a cattle station in the western Queensland outback in August.

Espen Knutsen, senior curator of palaeontology at the Queensland Museum, likened the discovery to that of the Rosetta Stone – the Ancient Egyptian block of granite rediscovered in 1799 that helped experts to decode hieroglyphics.

“We have never found a body and a head together and this could hold the key to future research in this field,” Knutsen said in a statement Wednesday that confirmed the discovery, adding it could give paleontologists greater insight into the origins, evolution and ecology of the cretaceous period in the region.

“Because these plesiosaurs were two-thirds neck, often the head would be separated from the body after death, which makes it very hard to find a fossil preserving both together,” he said.

The discovery was made by amateur paleontologists known as the “Rock Chicks” – Cassandra Prince, her sister Cynthia, and fellow fossil sleuth Sally, who goes only by her first name.

Elasmosaurs, which grew to between 8 and 10 meters long, lived in the Eromanga Sea, which covered large parts of inland Australia with waters 50 meters deep about 150 million years ago.

Knutsen told CNN that when an elasmosaur died, its decomposing body would swell with gas that made it rise to the water’s surface, and often the head would break off when predators scavenged the carcass – making full-body discoveries rare.

He added that because the latest find was a young specimen it would shed light on how the body shape of elasmosaurs changed from youth to adulthood.

“We’re going to look at the chemistry of its teeth and that can tell us something about its ecology in terms of habitat as well, whether it was migrating throughout his life, or whether it was sort of staying in the same habitat, and also into its diet,” he said.

Ancient marine reptiles like plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs are not classified as dinosaurs even though they lived around the same time. Plesiosaurs evolved from ancestors who lived on land and therefore didn’t have gills and had to surface occasionally for air. It remains unknown how long they could stay underwater.

It’s the latest big discovery about prehistory to have been made in Australia in recent years.

In June last year, scientists confirmed that the 2007 discovery of a fossilized skeleton in Queensland was the country’s largest dinosaur. The dinosaur, nicknamed “Cooper,” stood about two stories tall, and was as long as a basketball court.

Two months later, scientists discovered that there once was a species of flying “dragon” that soared over Australia 105 million years ago. The pterosaur was described by researchers as a “fearsome beast” that snacked on juvenile dinosaurs.

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World

Brittany Higgins: Rape case that shook Australian politics abandoned over mental health fears

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Sydney, Australia
CNN
 — 

Prosecutors in Australia have ended high-profile legal action against a former government staffer accused of raping a colleague inside Parliament House, saying a retrial would pose a “significant and unacceptable risk” to the woman’s life.

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) director of public prosecutions, Shane Drumgold, told reporters Friday that the risk to Brittany Higgins’ mental health must be put ahead of the need for a resolution in the case.

Higgins, a former federal government staffer, alleges she was raped by former colleague Bruce Lehrmann in the office of Australia’s then defense minister in 2019.

Lehrmann pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and maintains he has never engaged in intercourse with Higgins, consensual or otherwise.

The charge has now been dropped.

Drumgold said he had received “compelling evidence” from two independent medical experts that the “ongoing trauma associated with this prosecution presents a significant and unacceptable risk” to Higgins’ life.

“The evidence makes it clear that this is not limited to the harm of giving evidence in a witness box,” he said.

The case went to trial in Canberra in October, but the judge ordered a retrial due to jury misconduct. The retrial had been set to take place in February 2023.

However, Drumgold told reporters Friday that a retrial was no longer in the public interest.

“This has left me no option but to file a notice declining to proceed with the retrial of this matter, which I have done this morning. This brings the prosecution to an end,” Drumgold said.

Higgins is currently in hospital, according to a statement from her friend Emma Webster on Friday.

“The last couple of years have been difficult and unrelenting,” Webster stated. “Brittany is extremely grateful for all the support she has received, particularly from our mental health care workers.”

In the original trial, the judge dismissed the 12-member jury deliberating the rape verdict after it was revealed a juror had researched the allegations and taken that information into the jury room.

Higgins alleged Lehrmann had raped her in 2019 after the two shared a taxi to Parliament House following a night out with colleagues in the capital.

Higgins approached police soon after the alleged incident but didn’t make a formal complaint, citing fears that taking the matter further could damage her career.

But in 2021, she spoke to media and the case made headlines, not only because of the location of the alleged attack but due to Higgins’ claims that she had been discouraged from coming forward to avoid political fallout before the 2019 election.

Lehrmann was arrested and charged last year but the trial was delayed, partly due to fears that publicity around the case meant he wouldn’t get a fair hearing.

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World

Jacinda Ardern and Sanna Marin hit back at reporter’s question on age and gender

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As two of the youngest heads of government and among a small percentage of female world leaders, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her Finnish counterpart Sanna Marin have long faced questions about their age and gender.

But they were quick to shoot down a journalist who asked about the purpose of the first-ever visit to New Zealand by a Finnish prime minister on Wednesday.

“A lot of people will be wondering are you two meeting just because you’re similar in age and, you know, got a lot of common stuff there,” the journalist said during a joint news conference in Auckland.

Ardern, 42, was quick to cut off the questioner.

“I wonder whether or not anyone ever asked Barack Obama and John Key if they met because they were of similar age,” she said, in reference to the former prime ministers of the United States and New Zealand.

“We, of course, have a higher proportion of men in politics, it’s reality. Because two women meet it’s not simply because of their gender.”

Marin, 37, who is in New Zealand with a Finnish trade delegation, emphasized the country’s growing trade ties.

“We are meeting because we are prime ministers,” she said in response.

She ends her visit to the southern hemisphere in Australia later this week.

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