WELLINGTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) – New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday she felt demonstrations against a COVID-19 vaccine mandate now entering their second week were an “imported” phenomenon, and nothing like anything she had seen before in the country.
Hundreds of protesters continue to occupy lawns in front of the distinctive ‘Beehive’ parliament for a seventh day, ignoring repeated calls by the police to leave and undaunted by drenching rain over the weekend.
Claiming inspiration from truckers’ anti-vaccine mandate demonstrations in Canada, the protesters have also blocked several streets around parliament with their trucks, vans and motorcycles.
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“It feels like an imported protest to me,” Ardern told state broadcaster TVNZ in an interview.
“I’ve seen Trump flags on the forecourt, I’ve seen Canadian flags on the forecourt,” she said, referring to images of former U.S. President Donald Trump carried by some demonstrators as well as the situation in Canada.
Ardern said in a news conference later in the day that the protesters have demanded the government remove all public health COVID-19 measures.
Police stand guard in front of protestors rallying against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination mandates despite the rain, near the parliament building in Wellington, New Zealand February 13, 2022 in this picture obtained from social media. Courtesy Charlie Coppinger/via REUTERS
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“That means at the very point where we are seeing an increase in cases and an increase in risk to the public health and well-being of New Zealand, they want to see removed the very measures that have kept us safe, well and alive. You’ll forgive me if I take a very strong view on that suggestion,” Ardern said.
The protests started as a stand against vaccine mandates but have been joined by groups calling for an end to COVID-19 restrictions, rejecting vaccinations, as well as calling attention to other social issues like censorship and rights of the ethnic Maori community. At the protests’ peak, thousands of demonstrators were estimated to be involved.
A country of five million people, New Zealand has some of the lowest COVID-19 case numbers in the world, largely due to tough coronavirus border curbs and social restrictions.
Daily Omicron variant cases have been rising, however, nearly touching 1,000 on Monday, as some domestic restrictions were eased this month.
The country’s borders, however, are still closed with tens of thousands of expatriate New Zealanders cut off from families.
The High Court on Monday started hearing a case against the government filed by a group representing expatriate New Zealanders which has accused the state of unlawfully denying citizens the right to enter the country.
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Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell and Kim Coghill
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
MINNEAPOLIS, Feb 5 (Reuters) – Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of downtown Minneapolis on Saturday demanding justice in the fatal police shooting of a young Black man, Amir Locke, during a “no-knock” raid on his apartment earlier this week.
The boisterous but peaceful crowd, chanting Locke’s name and the slogan “no justice, no peace,” rallied at Government Plaza in Minnesota’s largest city three days after Locke, 22, was shot on his couch by police.
The day after the killing, police released video footage from the raid, which showed Locke was holding a gun as he twisted beneath a blanket on his sofa after being roused by officers moments before he was slain.
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Police have said the officers were exercising a “no-knock” search warrant, which authorizes police to enter private property without first alerting occupants or announcing their presence.
The warrant was issued in relation to a homicide probe led by detectives from the neighboring Saint Paul Police Department. Locke was not named in the warrant, and Minneapolis police have acknowledged it was unclear how or whether he was connected to that investigation.
On Thursday, interim Minneapolis Police Chief Amelia Huffman told a news conference the county attorney’s office was reviewing the shooting, and that video from the incident appeared to show Locke’s gun pointed toward officers when they opened fire.
Activists at the protest said Locke had a right to possess a weapon in his own home and was never given the chance to disarm himself in the chaotic moments as police stormed into his apartment without warning.
At least 500 demonstrators assembled in below-freezing temperatures on Saturday, demanding an unconditional ban on no-knock warrants, the dismissal and arrest of officers involved in the shooting, and the resignation of the mayor and police chief.
Children hold up Black Lives Matter signs during a protest for Amir Locke, a Black man who was shot and killed by Minneapolis police’s SWAT team, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., February 4, 2022. REUTERS/Tim Evans
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A series of speakers led the crowd through chants demanding racial justice and denouncing police violence against Black people, who organizers said have been disproportionately targeted by heavy-handed, and discriminatory law enforcement tactics.
Live video footage of the protest from Reuters showed the crowd remained orderly, while police kept a low profile presence on the fringes of the rally.
On Friday, Mayor Jacob Frey responded to the Locke shooting, ordering a moratorium on “no-knock” search warrants, saying he was acting to “ensure safety of both the public and officers until a new policy is crafted.”
The Locke shooting was the latest of a string of incidents to put Minneapolis-area police department under scrutiny.
Almost two years ago, George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, was killed by a white officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes during an arrest on suspicion of trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill. Outrage over Floyd’s death sparked a nationwide movement challenging police brutality and bias in the U.S. criminal justice system.
The video of Locke’s arrest showed police unlocking his apartment with a key and officers shouting, “Police, search warrant, get on the ground,” as they entered.
An officer then kicks at the couch where Locke was lying and as Locke turns, his arm emerges from under the blanket with a gun seen in his hand. Almost immediately, police fired at least three shots.
Lawyers for Locke’s family said he had no criminal history and legally possessed a firearm at the time of his death.
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Reporting by Reuters Video News staff in Minneapolis; Writing and additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by David Gregorio
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Canada’s Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada January 31, 2022. REUTERS/Blair Gable
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OTTAWA, Feb 2 (Reuters) – Canadian Conservative lawmakers on Wednesday ousted Erin O’Toole as leader, angry over the main opposition party’s third straight loss to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals in a 2021 election.
Legislators voted 73 to 45 to replace O’Toole, who took over as head of the Conservative Party in August 2020. He had vowed to defeat Trudeau but instead led the right-leaning party to a disappointing finish in 2021 elections.
O’Toole, in remarks posted on Facebook, said he would remain in Parliament, pledging “unwavering loyalty” to the next leader.
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The party selected Candice Bergen, the Conservative’s deputy head, as interim leader on Wednesday night ahead of a convention to choose a permanent successor to O’Toole, according to a statement. Bergen, in parliament since 2008, faced criticism last year after an undated photo emerged of her wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat, a slogan of former U.S. president Donald Trump.
Some disenchanted Conservatives said O’Toole had pulled the party too far into the middle during the campaign, announcing major policies without consultation.
O’Toole, who represents a parliamentary district in the vote-rich province of Ontario, said the tactic was needed to attract more moderate voters.
But the move irritated many in his party, which has a strong populist wing. His ouster means it is likely the Conservatives will now swing more to the right. read more
“What’s next is they lose the next election,” said one gloomy former senior Conservative official.
Potential leadership candidates include the party’s finance critic Pierre Poilievre, a lawmaker who is a favorite of the right wing. He strongly backed a protest by truckers opposed to COVID-19 vaccine mandates which has paralyzed central Ottawa.
“You need only take a walk down the street in front of Parliament to see how divided we are,” O’Toole said, urging his party to “realize that our country is divided and people are worried.”
O’Toole initially distanced himself from the demonstration, which insiders said had infuriated some legislators at a time when they were already unhappy with his performance.
“The lack of contrition and humility from Mr. O’Toole and how he conducted himself after the election … is ultimately what did him in. There was no plan for how they were going to do things better,” said Jamie Ellerton, a conservative strategist and principal at Conaptus, a public relations firm.
O’Toole’s ouster is potentially good news for Trudeau, who has now seen off four Conservative leaders and can govern while his rivals are focused on succession issues. No date for a leadership convention has been set.
Trudeau heads a minority government, though he can rely on steady support from the leftist New Democrats to pass legislation. He thanked O’Toole for his service.
One senior Liberal strategist said Trudeau’s party needed to avoid sounding triumphant.
“This might be good for now but nobody can say it’s good for long,” said the strategist, who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation.
The current Conservative Party was created in 2003 through a merger of a center-right party and populist right-wing party, and some fret about a split. After the vote, legislators stressed the party was united.
“There is never a good time for a lot of things but sometimes you have to deal with them,” Pierre Paul-Hus, the party’s public safety critic, told reporters. Legislators will select an interim chief later on Wednesday.
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Additional reporting by Steve Scherer in Ottawa;
Editing by Aurora Ellis and Stephen Coates
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Rio releases external review of its workplace culture
Report finds widespread bullying, sexual harassment, racism
Rio CEO says findings “extremely disturbing”
Company says accepts all 26 recommendations
Feb 1 (Reuters) – A report released by Rio Tinto (RIO.AX), (RIO.L) on Tuesday outlined a culture of bullying, harassment and racism at the global mining giant, including 21 complaints of actual or attempted rape or sexual assault over the past five years.
Nearly half of all employees who responded to an external review of the miner’s workplace culture commissioned by Rio said they had been bullied, while racism was found to be common across a number of areas.
Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm said the results were “disturbing” and the company would implement all 26 recommendations from the report by former Australian sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick.
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“The eye opener for me was two-fold,” Stausholm told Reuters. “I hadn’t realised how much bullying exists in the company and secondly that it’s quite systemic – the three issues of bullying, sexual harassment and racism … that’s extremely disturbing.”
Rio Tinto launched the review in March last year, not long after Stausholm took over the top job in the wake of a widespread backlash against the company after it blasted the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters to expand an iron ore mine.
More than 10,000 employees, nearly a quarter of its 45,000-strong workplace shared their experiences and views for the study.
The report found nearly 30% women and about 7% of men have experienced sexual harassment at work, with 21 women reporting actual or attempted rape or sexual assault.
Racism was a “significant challenge” for employees at many locations. People working in a country different to their birth experienced high rates of racism while nearly 40% of men who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander in Australia had experienced racism.
“I have copped racism in every single corner of this company,” one employee was anonymously quoted as saying.
Rio said reforms will focus on a commitment from the company’s leadership to create a safe and inclusive working environment, including by increasing diversity within the company. It would also ensure the company’s remote mine site facilities are safe, and make it easier for staff to call out unacceptable behaviours.
“Clearly much more needs to be done to ensure the safety of workers in the resources sector,” said Owen Whittle, Secretary for UnionsWA, which represents over 30 workers groups which have over 150,000 members in Western Australia.
“With nearly half of the workforce reporting bullying, it is clear that they have failed workers over a long period of time and need to do far more to prevent harassment and bullying in workplaces,” he said.
SEXISM, RACISM
The Rio report comes ahead of the release of another report by the West Australia state government later this year on sexual harassment at mining camps in the state, which provides more than half of the world’s supply of iron ore.
Submissions to the inquiry last year said sexual harassment was rife at mining camps in Western Australia, which is home to mines of global firms including BHP Group (BHP.AX), Rio Tinto and Fortescue (FMG.AX).
A Western Australia state minister, Rita Saffioti, told Australia’s ABC News that she was very disturbed by the number of allegations.
“You want everyone to be able to feel safe in their workplace. Also in particular in those areas where you’re a bit more isolated from friends and family and you want to have the utmost protection from having that type of behaviour,” she said.
In a 2020 report, an Australian Human Rights Commission inquiry into sexual harassment found that 74% of women in the mining industry had experienced some form of sexual harassment in the past five years, partly due to a gender imbalance.
Nearly 80% of Rio Tinto’s workforce is male.
“Creating a safe, respectful work culture will encourage people of all backgrounds and diversity to thrive in our organisations,” Kellie Parker, the Australian CEO for Rio Tinto told Reuters.
Male and female employees in South Africa experienced the highest rates of racism. Employees spoke of the frequency of racism and its impacts on their confidence, self-esteem and work performance.
“Rio is a Caucasian oriented company,” one employee said in the report.
Rio said the report came at a pivotal time as workplace cultures shift against the backdrop of #MeToo, Black Lives Matter and other global movements, as well as an Australian inquiry into Rio’s destruction of Juukan Gorge, culturally significant rock shelters.
Stausholm said Juukan Gorge had triggered the biggest management change in the history of Rio and the new team wanted to drive more change.
“Its a matter of using the momentum of the moment now and try to move these actions forward fast because we cannot change these from one day to another.”
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Reporting by Praveen Menon; editing by Richard Pullin
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Rescuers use a crane to remove collapsed concrete roof of a detention center hit by air strikes in Saada, Yemen January 21, 2022. REUTERS/Naif Rahma
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DUBAI, Jan 25 (Reuters) – Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have launched two missile attacks at the United Arab Emirates in the last week, raising the stakes in a ruinous and complex conflict.
Monday’s assault, which the Houthis said was aimed at a base hosting the U.S. military, was thwarted by American-built Patriot interceptors, following a strike that killed three people a week earlier at a fuel depot in Abu Dhabi.
The Houthis said they are punishing the UAE, a member of a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen since 2015, for backing militias that joined the battle against the group in energy-rich Marib, the Saudi-backed government’s last northern stronghold.
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Escalations by both sides have further dimmed peace prospects in the conflict that enters its seventh year in March.
MARIB BATTLE
Last year Washington, under a new administration focused on human rights, added its heft to U.N. peace efforts in the hopes of engineering a ceasefire. It ended its support for coalition offensive operations and revoked a terrorist designation on the Houthis.
The peace push met with intransigence on both sides.
Last year the Houthis advanced in Marib, Yemen’s only gas producing region, pushing into most districts there apart from the city of Marib itself and nearby hydrocarbon sites. That advance dashed hopes for U.N.-led ceasefire efforts as both sides ramped up military operations.
Marib city is home to some 3 million people, including nearly 1 million who fled fighting elsewhere.
Emirati-backed forces joined the battle against the Houthis in Marib, leading to a further escalation the conflict as the movement turned its firing power at the UAE.
A COUNTRY DIVIDED
Yemen’s internal splits have festered for years.
North and south Yemen united into a single state in 1990, and southern separatists who tried to secede in 1994 were defeated, concentrating further power in the north.
Under former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who ruled the north from 1978 and the unified state from 1990-2012, corruption was rife and the leader’s family controlled much of the army and economy.
The Houthi movement grew among members of the Zaydi sect of Shi’ite Islam, who chafed as their heartland in the far north became impoverished. In the late 1990s they fought Yemen’s army and grew friendly with Iran.
The Muslim Brotherhood and other Sunni Islamists gained strength, particularly under General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who built a power base in the army. Jihadist fugitives formed al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
ARAB SPRING
Saleh’s downfall in 2012 exacerbated Yemen’s divisions. When pro-democracy mass protests broke out in 2011, some of Saleh’s former allies turned on him. The army split. Separatists rallied in the south. The Houthis seized more areas. Yemen’s Gulf neighbours persuaded Saleh to step down.
Deputy president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was elected in 2012 to a two-year term to oversee a democratic transition, but things soon fell apart. Hadi was widely considered weak and his administration corrupt. Saleh’s allies undermined the transition. AQAP set up a mini-state and hit Sanaa with ever bloodier bombings.
In late 2014, the Houthis seized Sanaa with help from pro-Saleh army units, initially forcing Hadi to share power, then arresting him in early 2015. He escaped and fled to the southern port of Aden. Saudi Arabia formed a Western-backed coalition of Sunni Muslim fighting on behalf of Hadi’s government. The anti-Houthi coalition represents an array of Yemeni interests, including southern separatists, northeastern tribes, Sunni Islamists and army remnants loyal to Ahmar.
DEADLOCK
The Houthis and Saleh’s forces were driven from Aden and its environs in south Yemen, and from central Marib in 2015. Years of military stalemate followed with the Houthis holding most of the easily defended highlands and the Red Sea port of Hodeidah.
The coalition kept up intense air strikes, aiming to split the Houthis and Saleh. They imposed a partial blockade to stop Iran arming the Houthis, which Tehran denies. U.N.-backed talks went nowhere.
In 2017, Saleh abandoned his Houthi allies, hoping to cut a deal and regain power for his family. He was killed fleeing Sanaa and his loyalists turned on the Houthis.
To break the Houthis, the coalition in 2018 tried to seize Hodeidah port, the group’s main supply line. It failed. Aid groups warned a full assault may disrupt food and aid flows.
As military options faded and Riyadh came under intense Western scrutiny over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the coalition backed U.N.-sponsored talks in December 2018.
Peace efforts quickly faltered. The United Arab Emirates largely reduced its presence in 2019 in a bid to distance itself from an unpopular war.
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Writing by Michael Georgy
Editing by Peter Graff
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
SAADA/NEW YORK, Yemen, Jan 21 (Reuters) – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned air strikes by a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen on Friday that reportedly killed at least 60 people in a detention center in the Houthi-held Saada province.
A Reuters witness said several people, including African migrants, died in the attack. Guterres’ spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said further deadly air strikes had been reported elsewhere in Yemen with children among those killed.
“An airstrike on telecommunications facilities in Hodeidah has also significantly disrupted vital internet services across much of the country,” Dujarric said in a statement. “The Secretary-General calls for prompt, effective and transparent investigations into these incidents to ensure accountability.”
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Save the Children said in a statement that three children were reportedly killed in the western city of Hodeidah.
The Saudi-led military coalition has been fighting the Iran-aligned Houthi group in Yemen since 2015. The coalition said the report of dozens of deaths on Friday would be investigated “using an internationally approved, independent process.”
It has intensified air strikes on what it says are Houthi military targets after the group carried out an unprecedented assault on coalition member the United Arab Emirates on Monday and further missile and drones launches at Saudi cities.
Damage after an airstrike hit a temporary detention centre is seen in Saada, Yemen, January 21, 2022 in this still image obtained from a video. Video recorded with a drone. Al Masirah TV/REUTERS TV via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY
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During a news conference earlier on Friday, Guterres said: “This escalation needs to stop.”
Dujarric said Guterres reminds all parties that they are obliged to “ensure that civilians are protected against the dangers arising from military operations, adhering to the principles of proportionality, distinction and precaution.”
The U.N. Security Council condemned the Houthi attack on the UAE and other sites in Saudi Arabia in a statement on Friday after a closed-door meeting, requested by the UAE. The UAE joined the 15-member council this month for a two-year term.
Asked about the air strikes on Yemen on Friday, UAE U.N. Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh told reporters: “The coalition undertake to abide by international law and proportionate response in all its military operations.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan al Saud on Friday to reaffirm a U.S. commitment to help Gulf allies improve their defence and underscored “the importance of mitigating civilian harm,” the State Department said in a statement.
The conflict, in which the coalition intervened after the Houthis ousted the internationally-recognised government from the capital Sanaa, has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions and pushed Yemen to the verge of famine.
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Reporting by Yemen team and Michelle Nichols in New York; Writing by Michelle Nichols and Ghaida Ghantous; Editing by William Maclean and Daniel Wallis
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Former president oversaw period of deep insecurity
Lost popular support and eventually ousted in coup
BAMAKO, Jan 16 (Reuters) – Former Malian president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who was ousted by the military in 2020 after a turbulent seven-year rule, has died, officials said on Sunday. He was 76.
Known by his initials IBK, Keita ran the West African country from September 2013 until August 2020, during which Islamist insurgents overran large areas and ethnic violence flared.
Disputed legislative elections, rumours of corruption and low economic growth also fuelled public anger and drew tens of thousands onto the streets of the capital Bamako in 2020 to demand his resignation.
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He was eventually forced out by a military coup, whose leaders remain in charge despite strong international objections.
The interim government issued a statement on Sunday that read: “The government of Mali and the Malian people salute the memory of the illustrious deceased.”
Leaders from the region including Senegalese President Macky Sall and Burkina Faso’s president, Roch Kabore, sent condolences.
The cause of death was not immediately clear. A former adviser said Keita, who frequently travelled abroad for medical attention, had died at home in Bamako.
He was detained and put under house arrest during the coup, but those restrictions were lifted amid pressure from the West African political bloc ECOWAS.
Known for his white flowing robes and a tendency to slur his words, Keita came to power in a resounding election victory in 2013. He vowed to take on the corruption that had eroded support for his predecessor Amadou Toumani Toure, also toppled in a coup.
INSECURITY AND CORRUPTION
Keita had a reputation for firmness forged when he was prime minister in the 1990s, when he took a hard line with striking trade unions.
As president, he enjoyed strong international support, especially from former colonial ruler France, which poured in money and troops to counter al Qaeda-linked jihadists who in 2012 hijacked an ethnic Tuareg rebellion and swept across the desert north.
But continued insecurity ultimately marred his presidency.
French forces pushed back the insurgents in 2013. But they recovered, and have since killed hundreds of soldiers and civilians, driven out local leaders and in some areas set up their own systems of government.
The jihadist attacks also stoked ethnic violence between rival herding and farming communities, which claimed hundreds more lives and underscored the government’s lack of control. Abuses by the army bred more resentment, rights groups say.
Keita was also dogged by allegations of corruption.
In 2014, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund froze nearly $70 million in financing after the IMF expressed concern over the purchase of a $40 million presidential jet and the transparency of Mali’s defence spending.
When word got out in 2020 that Keita had been toppled, thousands celebrated on the streets.
With promises to end nepotism and corruption, the military struck a chord with millions of impoverished Malians who wanted a break from the past.
On Friday, 18 months on, thousands demonstrated in Bamako against strict sanctions imposed by ECOWAS on the transitional government for trying to extend its hold on power. read more
“IBK was a man who loved his country,” said a woman who came to Keita’s house on Sunday to pay her respects. “A good man who never betrayed Mali and who did everything so it did not fall.”
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Reporting By Tiemoko Diallo;
Additional reporting by Paul Lorgerie; Writing by Edward McAllister;
Editing by Angus MacSwan and Andrew Cawthorne
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
BELGRADE, Jan 12 (Reuters) – Novak Djokovic was in Serbia in the two weeks before flying to the Australian Open from Spain, according to three Belgrade residents, whose accounts to Reuters backed social media posts that contradict information contained in his immigration declaration on arrival in Melbourne.
The accounts from two eyewitnesses and another individual, obtained by Reuters on Tuesday and previously unreported, corroborated earlier social media posts that appear to show Djokovic in Belgrade less than two weeks before he headed to Spain and then on to Australia.
These accounts of his travel history are at odds with a declaration submitted as part of immigration formalities for Djokovic’s entry to Australia that stated he had not travelled in the 14 days prior to leaving for Australia.
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Giving false or misleading information in the form is an offence, carrying a maximum penalty of 12 months in prison, and a fine of up to 6,600 Australian dollars (US$4,730) and can lead to cancellation of the offender’s visa.
Djokovic, the world number one in men’s tennis, is in Australia to play in next week’s Australian Open. The federal government cancelled his visa when he landed, on the grounds he has not had a COVID-19 vaccination and his medical exemption was not satisfactory.
A judge on Monday quashed that decision after Djokovic made a successful legal challenge. But the Australian government said it was considering whether to use discretionary powers to cancel Djokovic’s visa.
Two representatives for Djokovic, and his Australian lawyers, did not respond to emailed requests for comment on his movements in the 14 days before Jan. 5, and about the information given in the immigration form.
Djokovic’s father, Srdjan Djokovic, responding to Reuters questions, sent a statement which said: “If anything had not been cleared up as some journalists stipulate, the verdict would have been different.”
Three separate social media posts have purported to show Djokovic photos and video of Djokovic in Belgrade and were posted on Dec. 25. It has not been possible to independently verify when and where the images were recorded.
However, two eyewitnesses who spoke to Reuters said they saw the athlete in Belgrade on or after Dec. 24, that is within the 14-day window before his arrival in Australia, via Spain. The two witnesses said they could not recall the exact dates they saw the tennis player. A third person confirmed that video of Djokovic posted on social media was recorded on Dec. 25 in Belgrade.
TRAVEL DECLARATION
Before boarding his Emirates flight to Melbourne, Djokovic – like all travellers to Australia – was required to fill out a form called an Australia Travel Declaration.
Among the questions on that form, Djokovic or his representatives had checked a box stating that he had not, or would not, travel in the 14 days prior to his flight to Australia, according to a copy of the completed form submitted to the Australian federal court by his lawyers as part of his legal challenge.
Djokovic told Australian authorities that when he arrived in Australia on Jan. 5, he had travelled there from Spain, according to documents his lawyers submitted to the court and seen by Reuters.
In order to have not travelled in the 14 days prior to his flight to Australia, Djokovic needed to have been in Spain from Dec. 23 at the latest.
Asked to comment on whether it was investigating if Djokovic’s form contained misleading information, the Australian Border Force said it did not comment on operational matters.
It said that as part of Australia’s response to the COVID-19 Omicron variant, it is an enforceable requirement that travellers, among other things, “make a declaration setting out their travel history for the 14 days before their scheduled flight”.
STREET TENNIS
Part of the evidence placing Djokovic in Serbia within the 14-day window before he went to Australia centres around a video of an impromptu tennis match showing Djokovic playing with an unidentified individual on Dec. 25 on a Belgrade street.
The video posted on the Instagram account of Belgrade real estate executive Igor Rogan showed someone matching Djokovic’s description, wearing jeans and a raincoat, playing tennis in a street. Reuters identified the location as West 65, a high-end apartment complex in Belgrade’s Novi Beograd district. A branch of Rogan’s real estate firm can be seen in the background.
The video was posted on Dec. 25, with a caption saying it was recorded on the same day. When the firm was contacted by Reuters, a female employee at the company where Rogan works said the branch in West 65 was open for business on Dec. 25 and that Rogan recorded the video in Belgrade the same day.
“I remember it was on the Catholic Christmas,” she said. Orthodox Christians, who are the majority in Serbia, celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7. She asked not to be identified. She declined to answer further questions, referring inquiries to Rogan. He told Reuters he did not wish to comment.
The two eyewitnesses who spoke to Reuters, and who declined to be named, said they had seen Djokovic in the vicinity of the same apartment complex.
The accounts the three individuals provided to Reuters support prior posts on social media.
A picture posted on Twitter, also on Dec. 25, by a user called Danilo Skerovic showed Djokovic posing with a fan in front of the same apartment block. The tennis player was wearing the same outfit as he had in the video posted by Rogan, with a tennis racket in one hand and a tennis ball in the other. Skerovic did not respond to messages seeking comment.
Another picture of Djokovic was posted on the same day on the Instagram account of Petar Djordjic, an athlete who plays handball for the Serbian national team and the Portuguese club side S. L. Benfica. The photo showed Djokovic, in the same outfit and against the same backdrop, posing alongside Djordjic. Djordjic did not respond to messages sent on Tuesday to his mobile phone number. S. L. Benfica did not respond to a request for comment.
While being interviewed by an immigration official at Melbourne airport, Djokovic said the Australian travel declaration was completed by his agent, according to a transcript of the interview released as part of the legal challenge. Elena Cappellaro, who acts as his agent, did not respond to a request for comment on whether she completed the form.
Djokovic’s case provoked a row between Canberra and Belgrade and fuelled heated debate over mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies.
Public opinion in Australia, which is battling an Omicron wave of infections and where more than 90% of the adult population is double vaccinated, has been largely against the player. Serbian supporters of the tennis player alleged he was being made a scapegoat by the Australian authorities.
(One Australian $ = US$0.72)
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Additional reporting by Ivana Sekularac, Leela de Kretser, Sonali Paul, Aislinn Lang and Belen Carreno; Writing by Christian Lowe, Editing by Angus MacSwan and Jon Boyle
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Star tweets picture of himself on court hours after ruling
Police use pepper spray on Djokovic supporters
Judge rules cancellation of Djokovic’s visa ‘unreasonable’
Immigration Minister could still exercise power to revoke visa
Djokovic had claimed medical exemption from vaccine requirement
MELBOURNE, Jan 10 (Reuters) – World tennis number one Novak Djokovic tweeted a picture of himself practicing at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena hours after winning a court challenge on Monday to remain in Australia.
The fight over his medical exemption from COVID-19 vaccination may not be over, however, as the Australian government said it was still considering another move to deport him.
“I am pleased and grateful that the judge overturned my visa cancellation,” Djokovic wrote on Twitter. “Despite all that has happened I want to stay and try to compete at the Australian Open.”
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Earlier Judge Anthony Kelly had ruled the federal government’s decision last week to revoke the Serbian tennis star’s visa amid was “unreasonable” and ordered his release.
“Novak is free and just a moment ago he went to the tennis court to practice,” Djokovic’s brother Djordje told a family news conference in Belgrade. “He’s out there to set another record.”
Djokovic himself, who arrived in Australia last week in pursuit of a record 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open from Jan. 17, had spent the day at his lawyers’ chambers.
There were chaotic scenes on Monday evening as supporters who had gathered outside the lawyers’ office chanting “Free Novak!” surged around a black car with tinted windows leaving the building, while police at one stage used pepper spray as they tried to clear a path. read more
A spokesman for Immigration Minister Alex Hawke said he was considering using his broad discretionary powers he is given by Australia’s Migration Act to again revoke Djokovic’s visa.
The controversy has been closely followed around the world, creating diplomatic tensions between Belgrade and Canberra and sparking heated debate over national vaccination rules.
Serbia’s parliamentary speaker, Ivica Dacic, said he was concerned Hawke could still deport Djokovic, a move that would bar the 34-year-old from the country for three years.
“The process should have ended when the court ruled on the matter,” Dacic told Serbia’s Happy TV. “It defies common sense.”
COURT ‘CIRCUS’
Spanish rival Rafa Nadal called the drama surrounding the build-up to the tournament a “circus”.
A supporter of Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic holds his photo during a rally outside the Park Hotel, where the star athlete is believed to be held while he stays in Australia, in Melbourne, Australia, January 9, 2022. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
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“Whether or not I agree with Djokovic on some things, justice has spoken and has said that he has the right to participate in the Australian Open and I think it is the fairest decision,” Nadal told Spanish radio Onda Cero.
The authorities’ efforts to let the media and public follow events in court at times descended into farce, with pranksters hijacking internet links to stream loud music and porn.
Judge Kelly said he had quashed the decision to block Djokovic’s entry to Australia because the player was not given enough time to speak to tennis organisers and lawyers to respond fully after he was notified of the intent to cancel his visa.
Officials at Melbourne’s airport, where Djokovic had been detained on arrival late on Wednesday, reneged on an agreement to give Djokovic until 8.30 a.m. to speak to tournament organiser Tennis Australia and lawyers, Kelly said.
Djokovic was instead woken by officials around 6.00 a.m. after a brief rest and said he felt pressured to respond. The player, long an opponent of mandatory vaccination, told border officials he was unvaccinated and had had COVID-19 twice, according to a transcript of the interview.
MEDICAL EXEMPTION
Kelly earlier told the court it appeared Djokovic had sought and received the required medical exemption from COVID-19 vaccination on the basis that he had contracted the virus last month. He had presented evidence of this before he travelled to Melbourne and when he landed on Wednesday evening.
“What more could this man have done?” Kelly said.
Kelly’s ruling did not directly address the issue of whether the exemption on the grounds of an infection in the past six months was valid, which the government had disputed.
Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley said earlier that his organisation had spoken with federal and state officials for months to ensure the safe passage of players. Tennis Australia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Though news of the ruling was greeted with drums and dancing by around 50 supporters outside the Melbourne court, wider public opinion in Australia, where more than 90% of the adult population is double vaccinated, has been largely against the player.
Emotions ran particularly high in Melbourne, which has experienced the world’s longest cumulative lockdown.
The country’s COVID-19 cases surpassed 1 million on Monday, with more than half recorded in the past week, driving up hospitalisation numbers, straining supply chains and overloading testing facilities.
The saga kicked off when Djokovic posted a photo of himself leaning on his luggage on Instagram last Tuesday, telling the world he was headed to Australia with a vaccination exemption.
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Reporting by Sonali Paul and Ian Ransom in Melbourne and Ivana Sekularac and Zoran Milosavljevic in Belgrade; additional reporting by Byron Kaye, Cordelia Hsu, Loren Elliott and John Mair; Writing by Jane Wardell and Alex Richardson; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Hugh Lawson
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
ADDIS ABABA, Jan 8 (Reuters) – An air strike in Ethiopia’s Tigray region killed 56 people and injured 30, including children, in a camp for displaced people, two aid workers told Reuters on Saturday, citing local authorities and eyewitness accounts.
Military spokesman Colonel Getnet Adane and government spokesman Legesse Tulu did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s spokeswoman Billene Seyoum did not respond to a request for comment.
The government has previously denied targeting civilians in the 14-month conflict with rebellious Tigrayan forces.
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The spokesman for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) that has been fighting the central government, Getachew Reda, said in a tweet that “Another callous drone attack by Abiy Ahmed in an IDP (Internally Displaced People) camp in Dedebit has claimed the lives of 56 innocent civilians so far.”
The strike in the town of Dedebit, in the northwest of the region near the border with Eritrea, occurred late on Friday night, said the aid workers, who asked not to be named as they are not authorised to speak to the media.
Earlier on Friday, the government had freed several opposition leaders from prison and said it would begin dialogue with political opponents in order to foster reconciliation. read more
Both aid workers said the number of dead was confirmed by the local authorities. The aid workers sent Reuters pictures they said they had taken of the wounded in hospital, who included many children.
One of the aid workers, who visited Shire Suhul General Hospital where the injured were brought for treatment, said the camp hosts many old women and children.
“They told me the bombs came at midnight. It was completely dark and they couldn’t escape,” the aid worker said.
Ethiopian federal troops went to war with rebellious Tigrayan forces in November 2020. Since the war erupted, Reuters has reported atrocities by all sides, which the parties to the fighting have denied.
One of the aid workers said that one of the wounded in Friday’s strike, Asefa Gebrehaworia, 75, burst into tears as he recounted how his friend was killed. He was being treated for injuries to his left leg and hand.
A survivor of an air strike by Ethiopian government forces receives treatment at the Shire Shul General hospital in the town of Dedebit, in northern region of Tigray, Ethiopia January 8, 2022. REUTERS/Stringer
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Fighting had forced Asefa out of his home and now the air strike had destroyed the camp, where even though he was facing hunger at least he had shelter, he told the aid worker. He had arrived in the camp for displaced people from the border town of Humera.
Before the latest strike, at least 146 people have been killed and 213 injured in air strikes in Tigray since Oct. 18, according to a document prepared by aid agencies and shared with Reuters this week.
RECONCILIATION EFFORT
In Friday’s reconciliation move, the government freed opposition leaders from several ethnic groups. They included some leaders of the TPLF.
The U.S. government said Abiy had outlined the steps he is taking towards national reconciliation to its outgoing special envoy for the region, Jeffrey Feltman, when he visited Ethiopia this week.
“We welcome the release of prisoners as a positive move in that context,” said a spokesperson for the State Department.
The European Union said that while the release of opposition leaders was a positive move, it was concerned by the ongoing conflict in Tigray, citing the latest air strike.
“All parties must seize the moment to swiftly end the conflict and enter into dialogue,” the bloc said in a statement issued by its high representative for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell.
The TPLF expressed scepticism about Abiy’s call for national reconciliation.
“His daily routine of denying medication to helpless children and of sending drones targeting civilians flies in the face of his self-righteous claims,” its spokesman Getachew tweeted on Friday.
The TPLF accuses federal authorities of imposing an aid blockade on the region, leading to hunger and shortages of essentials like fuel and medicines. The government denies blocking the passage of aid convoys.
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Reporting by Addis Ababa Newsroom, Additional reporting by Daphne Psaledakis in Washington, Writing by Duncan Miriri and Katharine Houreld; Editing by Frances Kerry and Helen Popper
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.