Placeholder Content Image

Major update in case against accused Russian spies

<p>Accused Russian spies Kira and Igor Korolev have had their assets seized by the AFP as the investigation into their espionage-related offences continues. </p> <p>Kira, an Australian Defence Force army private, and her husband became the first Australians to be charged with espionage since 2018 after allegedly working together to leak state secrets to Russia.</p> <p>The couple were <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/aussie-couple-arrested-and-charged-with-spying-for-russia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrested</a> in July in their Brisbane home and were charged with one count each of preparing for an espionage offence, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years’ imprisonment.</p> <p>Now, as the investigation into their activities continue, the AFP have sought an order to confiscate the apartment, assets and financed.</p> <p>The AFP-led Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT) is seeking to confiscate the married couple’s apartment and financial savings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Commonwealth).</p> <p>Last Friday, the Queensland Supreme Court made restraining orders over property owned by the couple, valued in excess of $550,000.</p> <p>The property subject to the restraining orders includes a Brisbane apartment owned by the couple, multiple bank accounts, and the superannuation funds acquired by Ms Korolev during her employment with the ADF.</p> <p>According to authorities, Kira, 40, undertook non-declared travel to Russia while on leave from the ADF and instructed her 62-year-old husband Igor, who remained in Australia, to log into her work account from their Brisbane home.</p> <p>The couple allegedly unlawfully accessed, copied and disseminated information from the Department of Defence computer systems that concerned the national security of Australia.</p> <p>The couple have not entered pleas to the charge against them and remain in custody on remand, and are next scheduled to appear in court in September. </p> <p><em>Image credits: Facebook</em></p>

Legal

Placeholder Content Image

"Worst nightmare”: Great-grandma confronts violent home intruder

<p>A distraught great-grandmother has recounted the "nightmare" she endured when her home was targeted during a violent home invasion. </p> <p>Stella, 85, was woken up at midnight on Wednesday by a light shining from the kitchen of the Perth home where she has lived with her husband for close to 30 years.</p> <p>She got out of bed to inspect the noise and was met face-to-face with an intruder. </p> <p>Stella said she threw a radio at the stranger to defend herself and called out to her husband, who had not heard the commotion because his hearing aids were not in and he was sleeping in another room.</p> <p>“I got the long handle brush and ... I pushed it into him and that’s when he must’ve thought I better get out of here,” Stella told <em><a href="https://7news.com.au/news/shaken-grandmother-relives-nightmare-alleged-mandurah-home-invasion-c-15243511" target="_blank" rel="noopener">7News</a></em>. </p> <p>During the terrifying ordeal, Stella was both threatened and punched in the face, and is now nursing a cut, bruising and swelling.</p> <p>The great-grandmother said she was still shaken over her “worst nightmare”, saying, “We’ve been here since 1995. This is the first thing that has ever happened.”</p> <p>The canine squad was called in and arrested an 18-year-old male who was found under a car in a neighbour’s front yard.</p> <p>Police allege the teenager broke into Stella’s son’s caravan, which is parked at the back of her property, between 6.30pm and 7pm on Wednesday before coming back hours later and forcing his way into her home.</p> <p>The accused has been charged with home burglary and commit, stealing, aggravated home burglars, aggravated robbery, possession of stolen or unlawfully obtained property and unlicensed possession of ammunition.</p> <p><em>Image credits: 7News</em></p> <p class="css-1n6q21n-StyledParagraph e4e0a020" style="box-sizing: border-box; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word; margin: 0px 0px 1.125rem; line-height: 25px; font-size: 1.125rem; font-family: HeyWow, Montserrat, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; caret-color: #292a33; color: #292a33;"> </p>

Legal

Placeholder Content Image

"While I was home": Goldie Hawn robbed twice in four months

<p>Hollywood star Goldie Hawn recently opened up about a harrowing experience she and longtime partner Kurt Russell endured: two home invasions within the span of just a few months.</p> <p>Hawn shared the details of these incidents during a candid conversation on Kelly Ripa's podcast, "Let's Talk Off Camera".</p> <p>The first robbery occurred while Hawn and Russell were out for dinner. "I went up the stairs, I walked into my closet, and I just lost it," Hawn recalled, describing the moment they returned home to find their house had been burglarised. The intruders had broken in from the balcony, targeting their bedroom and closets. "They completely knocked down my door, which is a safe door, so they're very, very sophisticated, and they got a lot of my goodies," she added.</p> <p>Following the initial invasion, Hawn believed the chances of a repeat incident were slim. However, just four months later, she faced another terrifying experience – this time while she was alone at home. "I hear this big thump upstairs, and I was alone," she reflected. Initially dismissing it as a sonic boom or some other unusual noise, she later discovered that intruders "were trying to get in my bedroom while I was in the house". </p> <p>The dual invasions profoundly impacted Hawn, prompting her to enhance her home security measures significantly. Despite the increased safety precautions, the traumatic events have left a lasting impression.</p> <p>In light of these experiences, Hawn expressed a desire to relocate to Atlanta, where her family resides. "It's so lovely there, I said, 'Hey, guys, why don't we all move there?'" she shared. The idea of a family compound has always been a dream for Hawn and her loved ones. "We've always said if one moves, we all have to move together. That's what we've always said." </p> <p><em>Image: Instagram</em></p>

Legal

Placeholder Content Image

Prominent Aussie doctor fighting for life after violent home invasion

<p>Dr. Michael Yung, a distinguished 61-year-old Adelaide doctor and former head of the intensive care unit at Adelaide Women’s and Children’s Hospital, is fighting for his life following a brutal home invasion early on Monday morning.</p> <p>The assault, deemed "life-threatening" by South Australia Police, unfolded within the confines of Dr Yung's opulent $2 million residence on James Street, Gilberton, at approximately 4:20am. Transpiring in one of the city's most affluent suburbs, the incident has been elevated to the status of a "major crime", prompting an expansive manhunt.</p> <p>Upon the arrival of emergency services, Dr Yung, suffering from severe injuries, was promptly transported to the Royal Adelaide Hospital, where he currently remains in critical condition.</p> <p>A comprehensive investigative effort is underway, involving Major Crime Detectives, Eastern District Detectives and patrol officers. Specialised forensic officers have diligently combed through the crime scene, with their efforts extending well into the night.</p> <p>Despite the intensive search, no suspects have been apprehended. Authorities suspect the involvement of multiple offenders, though the investigation is still in its early stages. Officers are actively pursuing leads and appealing to the public for assistance, requesting dashcam footage recorded between 3:30am and 5am on Monday in the vicinity of James Street and Nottage Terrace at Gilberton.</p> <p>CCTV footage has been secured, revealing a group of youths attempting a break-in at a nearby residence in Medindie hours before the assault on Dr Yung. Residents in the area have recently experienced a series of break-ins, although it remains uncertain if this incident is linked to other offences.</p> <p>Dr Yung's 30-year-old son emerged unscathed from the ordeal and is being treated as a witness, not a suspect, by detectives. Additional family members, including his second son, are reportedly en route from interstate to stand vigil by Dr Yung's bedside.</p> <p>This tragedy compounds the family's grief, as it follows the sudden death of Dr Yung's wife, Kathryn Browne-Yung, in March 2020. The wider medical community, as well as the Women’s and Children’s Hospital and SA Health family, are extremely distressed by the attack.</p> <p>SA Health Minister Chris Picton expressed the gravity of the situation, stating, "Dr Michael Yung has been there for so many South Australian children and families at their darkest times – now it is time for all of us to be there for him and his family."</p> <p><em>Images: SA Police / Adelaide Women’s and Children’s Hospital</em></p>

Legal

Placeholder Content Image

Benedict Cumberbatch fearing for his life after terrifying home invasion

<p>Benedict Cumberbatch and his family have reportedly been left fearing for their lives as a knife-wielding man broke into the star’s North London home and threatened him.</p> <p>The <em>Daily Mail </em>reported that 35-year-old Jack Bissell, who previously worked as a chef at the Beaumont Hotel in Mayfair, kicked his way through the front gate of the Marvel star’s multimillion-dollar property, allegedly shouting, “I know you’ve moved here. I hope it burns down.”</p> <p>Cumberbatch, 46, his wife, Sophia Hunter, 45, and their three children were reportedly in the home at the time of the break-in and could hear the intruder screaming outside, according to <em>Page Six</em>.</p> <p>Bissell also allegedly took one of the family’s plants and threw it at the garden wall, and ripped the intercom off the building after spitting on it.</p> <p>The intruder reportedly fled the scene before police arrived but, authorities were able to track him down due to DNA evidence he left on the intercom.</p> <p>Bissell was reportedly arrested, fined and slapped with a three-year restraining order from the Cumberbatch family.</p> <p>A source told the outlet, “Naturally all of the family were absolutely terrified and thought this guy was going to get in and hurt them.</p> <p>“Luckily it never went that far. Benedict and Sophie have had many sleepless nights since, worrying that they may be targeted again,” the insider said.</p> <p>“The fact that it was a targeted intrusion makes it a lot more scary.”</p> <p>During the trial, prosecutors said Bissell allegedly told a nearby shopkeeper that he had planned to break into the actor’s home and burn it down.</p> <p>Bissell pleaded guilty and was sentenced on May 10. However, details surrounding the date of the incident have not been disclosed.</p> <p>According to the Daily Mail, facts of the case could not be reported until they “successfully challenged blanket reporting restrictions this week”.</p> <p>No clear connection between Bissell and Cumberbatch has been established.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Getty / Instagram</em></p>

News

Placeholder Content Image

Australia Day hasn’t always been on January 26, but it has always been an issue

<p>January 26 is a date that sparks mixed emotions in Australia. For some, it’s a day to celebrate all the good things about living in Australia. For others, it’s a painful reminder of the beginning of British colonisation and the dispossession of First Nations.</p> <p>Increasingly, January 26 is becoming a date that divides the nation even as it attempts to unite it. Some local councils have <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/australia-day-citizenship-ceremony-window-widened-ban-overturned/bc76fadf-d39a-443b-ae8d-1b4a119a70cc">stopped holding citizenship ceremonies</a> on the date. In 2018, Triple J <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-27/hottest-100-wont-be-held-on-australia-day-triple-j-says/9197014">stopped hosting its Hottest 100</a> on Australia Day, and this year Victoria announced it will <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/victoria-quietly-axes-australia-day-parade-sparking-both-praise-and-disappointment/b2nrkslud">no longer hold its Australia Day parade</a>.</p> <p>An <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jan/24/guardian-essential-poll-albanese-approval-rating-dips-in-sign-of-gruelling-political-year-ahead">Essential Poll this week</a> suggests around a quarter of Australians would now prefer January 26 to be a day to recognise First Nations people with a national holiday on a separate day.</p> <p>Those who defend the status quo often appeal to tradition, but it’s important to recognise Australia Day has not always been celebrated on January 26, and the meaning of the date has long been contested.</p> <h2>When did Australia Day begin?</h2> <p>In the early 19th century, January 26 was a Sydney-centric celebration, sometimes called “Foundation Day”. These were initially informal gatherings and parties, but by 1838, it was declared a <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/230385624?searchTerm=%22Anniversary%20day%22">public holiday</a> to mark the 50th anniversary of the colony. As the other colonies were established, they celebrated their own foundation, rather than January 26.</p> <p>During the Federation debates of the 1880s and 1890s, there was a push for a single national holiday. But some objected to January 26 on the grounds it was focused on New South Wales. Nevertheless, by the centenary of the British arrival in 1888, all colonies except South Australia <a href="https://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/australia-day-south-australia">observed the day</a>.</p> <p>However, even after Federation in 1901, the primary national holiday was not January 26 but “Empire Day”, celebrated on May 24. The choice of date (the late Queen Victoria’s birthday) and the form of celebrations were more imperial than nationalist in flavour. </p> <p>It was only in 1915 that Australia Day emerged, as a fundraising effort for the first world war. Held on <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/voices/culture/article/2018/01/23/many-different-dates-weve-celebrated-australia-day">July 30</a>, the first Australia Day was directly shaped by the experience of the Gallipoli landing. It continued to be held in July for the remainder of the war.</p> <p>By 1935, the states all agreed to use the name Australia Day and celebrate it on January 26. But it was a decision that caused controversy and protest. The 150th anniversary in 1938 was celebrated nationally but also saw First Nations declare the date to be a “<a href="https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/day-of-mourning">day of mourning</a>”.</p> <p>Similarly, the 1988 bicentenary epitomised the contested meaning of January 26. It saw both sides – the largest party in Australia’s history and the largest protest since the Vietnam moratorium.</p> <p>It was <a href="https://www.australiaday.com.au/about/history-of-australia-day/">only in 1994</a> that Australia Day became a public holiday in every state and territory. </p> <h2>What are we celebrating?</h2> <p>Technically, January 26 does not mark the arrival of the First Fleet to Australia. Leaving England on May 13, 1787, the first ships <a href="https://guides.sl.nsw.gov.au/convicts-bound-for-australia/first_fleet">arrived at Botany Bay</a> on January 18, but Arthur Phillip decided it was not a suitable site. January 26 marks the day the British flag was hoisted at Sydney Cove. </p> <p>Throughout the 19th century, January 26 was a celebration of Britishness held by people who largely identified as Australian Britons. As Australian national identity evolved in the middle of the 20th century, the narrative around Australia Day became more exclusively nationalistic. Civic rituals like the Australian of the Year (first awarded in 1960) helped give January 26 a national focus.</p> <p>Today, Australia Day is presented as a day to “<a href="https://www.australiaday.org.au/">celebrate our nation</a>”. But for many First Nations people and their allies, it’s considered “<a href="https://www.commonground.org.au/articles/australia-day">Invasion Day</a>” or “Survival Day”.</p> <h2>If not January 26, then when?</h2> <p>Most countries hold their national holiday on the date they became independent. It’s a quirk of Australian history that the date the British flag was raised has taken this role, but it demonstrates how malleable national symbols can be. </p> <p>If the date of Australia Day was to change, there’s no clear alternative, although some argue that if Australia becomes a republic, that should be the new date. A pragmatic alternative is simply to hold Australia Day on the last Friday of January. A more humorous suggestion is <a href="http://may8.com.au/#:%7E:text=Though%20May%208%20has%20no,a%20greater%20Nation%20for%20it.">May 8</a>, which pronounced with a broad Australian drawl sounds like the word “mate”.</p> <p>Historic suggestions are the anniversary of the Eureka Stockade (December 3), the Mabo judgement (June 3), or the passage of the Australia Acts (March 3).</p> <p>For all their wisdom, it could be argued the constitution writers did Australia a disservice by having the Commonwealth form on January 1, 1901. Had it been almost any other day of the year, the legal creation of Australia would be the obvious choice for a national holiday.</p> <p>As emotive as the topic is, Australians should be free to debate what January 26 means and if it should continue to be the national holiday. The ability to openly debate tough issues without fear is, after all, one of the many freedoms Australia Day is supposed to celebrate.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-day-hasnt-always-been-on-january-26-but-it-has-always-been-an-issue-198389" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Caring

Placeholder Content Image

Photos released as men sought over violent pitch invasion

<p>Police have released photos of the men they want to speak to following a protest on the pitch of an A-League game in Melbourne. </p> <p>On Saturday night's game between Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory, fans stormed the pitch in protest of The Australian Professional League's (APL) decision to host the A-League grand final in Sydney for the next three years. </p> <p>Around 150 football fans ran onto the field around 8pm after flares were thrown into the crowd.</p> <p>Three men were injured and Melbourne City's goalkeeper was taken to hospital with a head injury after being hit by a metal bucket of sand allegedly thrown at him.</p> <p>Police have now released a photo of a man they want to speak to in relation to the incident. </p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/12/a-league-men.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p><em>Police are looking for this man, who they allege threw the metal bucket at players. Image credits: Victoria Police</em></p> <p>A match official was hurt and a cameraman was also injured after being hit on the head with a flare, police said.</p> <p>As investigators launch their probe into how the protest started, they have released a photos of men they may help their investigation into ripping of flares, assaults, criminal damage and invading the field.</p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/12/a-league-men-2.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p><em>Police want to talk to these men to gather more information about the incident. Image credits: Victoria Police</em></p> <p>North-West Metro Region Specialist Operations Acting Superintendent Jason Goddard called the events "disgraceful" and "disgusting," and said the fans "lacked total respect for the game of football."</p> <p>"I'm a lover of the game and I actually feel sad about what I saw play out on the pitch last night," he said.</p> <p>"Along with thousands of supporters, Victoria Police condemn the behaviour."</p> <p>He said he has "no doubt" police will be "knocking on a few doors soon."</p> <p>Witnesses of the incident, or anyone who recognises the men, have been urged to contact Crimestoppers. </p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images / Victoria Police</em></p>

News

Placeholder Content Image

Kate Ritchie hits out at the Daily Mail for invasion of privacy

<p dir="ltr">Kate Ritchie has hit out at the Daily Mail for invading her privacy and publishing photos of her leaving a mental health facility.</p> <p dir="ltr">The former <em>Home and Away</em> star recently announced she will be taking a break from her radio show to focus on her mental health.</p> <p dir="ltr">The 43-year-old confirmed that she will be back in 2023 alongside co-hosts Joel Creasey and Tim Blackwell.</p> <p dir="ltr">In a lengthy post on Instagram, the mother-of-one confessed that she is seeking help after realising she was relying on alcohol too much.</p> <p dir="ltr">However, things became too much when the Daily Mail published photos of her leaving a mental health facility, invading her privacy.</p> <p dir="ltr">“As announced previously, I am taking a break until next year,” her post began.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The last year has been incredibly emotionally challenging, as well as a relentless schedule, stress, and a lack of sleep. I came to realise that this led to an unhealthy reliance on alcohol.</p> <p dir="ltr">“So I decided to use this time to do something positive by getting the help I need from professionals who specialise in this area.</p> <p dir="ltr">“As everyone would understand, this is a very big step for me to take. I want to sincerely thank everybody who is supporting me.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl4ytUJy_jB/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl4ytUJy_jB/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Kate Ritchie (@kateritchieofficial)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">“It is a shocking invasion of my privacy that the Daily Mail, through their unrelenting stalking of me, has forced me to issue this public statement, in their blatant attempt to publicly shame me on a private health matter.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Her post was met with extreme support from fellow actors, comedians and hosts who wished Kate the best in getting better.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Much love,” comedian Tommy Little wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Love love love you sista! Do what you gotta do to put your health and happiness first. Cheering you on always and excited for all that lies ahead x,” fellow radio host Ash London commented.</p> <p dir="ltr">“There’s so much strength to be found in vulnerability. Luckily you are a very strong woman and I have no doubt this time of healing will reveal an even better version of you! We love you @kateritchieofficial,” Aussie swimmer Leisel Jones wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

Caring

Placeholder Content Image

Russian guard sentenced after doodling eyes on exhibit painting

<p dir="ltr">A Russian security guard has been found guilty of vandalism after doodling eyes on an abstract painting by avant-garde artist Anna Leporskaya last December.</p> <p dir="ltr">According to the <a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/08/29/russian-museum-guard-yeltsin-centre-doodles-sentenced">Art Newspaper</a>, he must serve 180 hours of “compulsory labour” and undergo “psychiatric evaluation”.</p> <p dir="ltr">The painting, titled <em>Three Figures</em> (1932–34), was on loan to the Yeltsin Centre from Moscow’s State Tretyakov Gallery and valued at 75 million rubles (US$1.2 million).</p> <p dir="ltr">News of the vandalism broke when visitors alerted gallery staff of two crude eyes drawn on the painting’s faceless figures in a ballpoint pen. </p> <p dir="ltr">A police investigation revealed the culprit was 64-year-old Aleksandr Vasiliev, a security guard employed by a private company who was on his first day on the job. </p> <p dir="ltr">After the damage was deemed “insignificant”, it was restored and has since been returned to the Tretyakov Gallery. </p> <p dir="ltr">Vasiliev’s lawyer, Aleskei Bushmakov, shared a letter on his Facebook page that he sent to Zelfira Tregulova, the general director of the Tretyakov Gallery.</p> <p dir="ltr">He wrote that “taking into account the circumstances of the criminal case, the damage inflicted to the painting <em>Three Figures</em>” and “the high level of public attention in connection with the incident,” the museum considered closing the case “via reconciliation” but ultimately decided that it “does not regard it as possible to take such an appeal to the magistrate.”</p> <p dir="ltr">In an interview with Russian news site E1, Vasiliev said he believed the 20th-century work by Leporskaya was a “children’s drawing” and claimed he was goaded by teenagers to deface it.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’m a fool, what have I done,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: State Tretyakov Gallery / The Art Newspaper Russia</em></p>

Art

Placeholder Content Image

"If we stop communicating, Putin wins. Propaganda wins": how a Norwegian organisation is supporting Russian protest art

<p>As an international student at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow in 2012, I remember studying <em>Rekviem</em> (requiem) by Russian poet <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/anna-akhmatova">Anna Ahkmatova</a>, an elegy she penned in secret as a tribute to the countless victims of Stalin’s murderous purges. </p> <p>Akhmatova’s writing revived the atrocities, delivering their darkness into the light.</p> <p>Her words spoke of constant fear permeating lives; of distrust, anxiety and betrayal; of the secret police arriving to drag you or your family away. </p> <p>To avoid detection and retribution, Ahkmatova whispered the poem to her friends who committed it to memory. She burned the incriminating scraps of paper.</p> <p>In the first four-and-a-half months following Putin’s attack against Ukraine, over 13,000 anti-war protesters <a href="https://ovdinfo.org/articles/2022/03/07/cracked-heads-and-tasers-results-march-6th-anti-war-protests">were detained</a> in Russia.</p> <p>Some estimates are that <a href="https://meduza.io/feature/2022/05/07/skolko-lyudey-uehalo-iz-rossii-iz-za-voyny-oni-uzhe-nikogda-ne-vernutsya-mozhno-li-eto-schitat-ocherednoy-volnoy-emigratsii">hundreds of thousands</a> fled Russia in early 2022, among them thousands of artists who no longer felt safe in the climate of increasing censorship.</p> <p>Some of these artists have found themselves in Kirkenes, a small Norwegian town 15 kilometres from the Russian border.</p> <h2>Russia’s protest art</h2> <p>Russian and Soviet artists have a long history of art as protest.</p> <p>The poem <em><a href="https://poets.org/poem/stalin-epigram">Stalin’s Epigram</a></em> (1933) authored by <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/osip-mandelstam">Osip Mandelstam</a> depicted Stalin as a gleeful killer. Authorities imprisoned and tortured Mandelstam, then deported the poet to a remote village near the Ural Mountains. </p> <p>After returning from exile, he persisted writing about Stalin until he was sent to a labour camp in Siberia, where he died in 1938 at the age of 47. </p> <p>Under the comparatively liberal rule of Stalin’s successor <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/131346?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">Nikita Khrushchev</a> from 1953, the Soviet Union began to enjoy previously unimagined freedoms.</p> <p>Protest art reflected these newfound liberties, becoming increasingly provocative and experimental. </p> <p>Many famous art movements surfaced during this period, including <a href="https://www.moscowart.net/art.html?id=SotsArt">Sots Art</a> — a fusion between Soviet and Pop Art — as Russian artists tested the boundaries, exposing the grim realities and unhappiness of life under Stalin’s regime. </p> <p>In 1962, the legendary composer Shostakovich set his <a href="https://theconversation.com/decoding-the-music-masterpieces-shostakovichs-babi-yar-82819">13th symphony</a> to a series of poems by his contemporary, Yevgeny Yevtushenko. One of these poems was Babi Yar, which criticised the Soviet government for concealing the <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/babi-yar-ukraine-massacre-holocaust-180979687/">massacre of 33,371 Jews</a> in a mass grave outside Kyiv.</p> <p>In contemporary Russia, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/10/world/europe/pussy-riot-russia-escape.html">Pussy Riot</a> came to the attention of the world in 2012 when members stepped behind the altar in Moscow’s golden-domed Christ the Saviour Cathedral wearing neon-coloured balaclavas to deliver a “punk rock prayer”. </p> <p>Their voices echoed off the cavernous, hand-painted ceilings, raging against Putin’s affiliation with the Orthodox church and the homophobic, anti-feminist policies that followed. </p> <p>They were sentenced to two years imprisonment.</p> <p>Today, <a href="https://artreview.com/amidst-a-crackdown-russia-anti-war-artists-and-activists-try-to-reclaim-the-streets/">pictures from Russia</a> reveal anonymous anti-war graffiti on the sides of buildings, “no war” chiselled into a frozen river, and yellow and blue chrysanthemums and tulips left at the feet of Soviet war memorials.</p> <h2>Cross-border collaborations</h2> <p><a href="https://www.pikene.no/">Pikene på Broen</a> (girls on the bridge) is an arts collective based in Kirkenes.</p> <p>They have spent the past 25 years curating art projects to promote cross-cultural collaboration and tackle political problems in the borderland region. </p> <p>Pikene på Broen is host to the the annual art festival <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barents_Sea">Barents</a> Spektakel (spectacle), an international artist residency including Russian, Norwegian and Finnish creatives, the gallery and project space Terminal B in Kirkenes town, and the debate series Transborder Café.</p> <p>The venue has become a hub for open discussions relating to current political and cultural issues, drawing contributions from artists, musicians, writers, politicians and researchers.</p> <p>Evgeny Goman, an independent theatre director from Murmansk, Russia – about 200 kilometres from Kirkenes – has been collaborating with Pikene på Broen for over 10 years.</p> <p>After moving to Norway in early 2022, Pikene på Broen worked with Goman to organise Kvartirnik (from the word kvartira, meaning apartment), an online talk group for Russian and Norwegian artists to exchange ideas. </p> <p>Following Putin’s attack on Ukraine, Kvartirnik shifted to an underground movement for dissident artists. Ironically, the name Kvartirnik derives from the clandestine concerts arranged <a href="https://www.ciee.org/go-abroad/college-study-abroad/blog/ciee-kvartirnik-understanding-through-music">in people’s apartments</a> during the Soviet Era when musicians were banned from performing in public.</p> <p><a href="http://deadrevolution.tilda.ws/?fbclid=IwAR2PcaqY7VdLtS1zYUu4JCbD6F36KZ8JKv_FEIYsNeSTE4aKokhV7YpITas">Party of the Dead</a> is one of several Russian protest art groups who participated in Kvartirnik. </p> <p>Pictures from the snow-decked Piskaryovskoye Cemetery in Saint Petersburg reveal members dressed as skeletons, holding placards reading: “are there not enough corpses?”.</p> <p>I spoke with Goman about the art coming out of Kvartirnik today.</p> <p>“In peaceful times, art is more about entertaining,” he says. </p> <p>"But in war and conflict, art is more important because it’s the language we use to express our pain. And through metaphors and symbolism, it allows us to speak about things that are censored."</p> <h2>Countering propaganda</h2> <p>Kvartirnik collaborators in Murmansk have also produced and distributed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samizdat">Samizdat</a> (self-publishing), an anonymous newsletter containing art suppressed by the state. </p> <p>“We have to be really smart now about how we do things in Russia,” Goman says. “Subtle.”</p> <p>Goman is pessimistic about Russia’s future. But he believes the key to moving forward is keeping communication open. He tells me the West’s decision to <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/03/right-way-cancel-russia/627115/">ban Russian culture</a> has backfired on their plan to pressure Putin into ending the war against Ukraine. </p> <p>Instead, he says, the divide is steadily increasing, leaving dissident artists isolated inside a country operating on fear and propaganda, furthering Putin’s agenda. </p> <p>“Putin wants us to not affect Russian minds. And that’s why we have to keep the dialogue going,” he says of the importance of cross-border collaborations like those he has undertaken in Kirkenes.</p> <p>"If we stop communicating, Putin wins. Propaganda wins."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-we-stop-communicating-putin-wins-propaganda-wins-how-a-norwegian-organisation-is-supporting-russian-protest-art-186911" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Art

Placeholder Content Image

Ukrainian refugees living “better than they dreamed” on Scottish cruise ship

<p dir="ltr">More than 100 Ukrainian refugees arriving in Scotland are calling a cruise ship in Edinburgh their new home, with those aboard praising the extensive amenities and nods to their home country.</p> <p dir="ltr">Families began moving onto the MS Victoria at the end of July, which can host up to 1,700 people and includes restaurants, children’s play areas, shops, a laundry, support services and free Wi-Fi among its onboard amenities.</p> <p dir="ltr">Though that might be standard fare for cruise passengers, there have been some extra touches made to help those onboard feel more at home.</p> <p dir="ltr">Nikol Bilous told <em><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-62346573" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BBC Scotland</a></em> the ship came with access to Ukrainian TV channels, which came as a surprise since “you never find that when you go on holiday”.</p> <p dir="ltr">"All the signs are in Ukrainian on the ship and most of the staff are Ukrainian,” the 19-year-old said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"And last night we had Borscht beetroot soup, our national dish, we couldn't believe it.</p> <p dir="ltr">"The conditions on the ship are better than we could have dreamed of and we are very grateful to the Scottish people for this accommodation.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Bilous added that there were also cinemas and theatres on board, but there were issues with the lights which haven’t worked after the Covid lockdowns.</p> <p dir="ltr">“But we don't need entertainment and were very surprised they were trying to do all this for us," she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Edinburgh Council has been on board all the time answering any questions we have, so we have felt 100% supported.</p> <p dir="ltr">"The rooms are quite small but they are perfect and we are very happy and grateful."</p> <p dir="ltr">Since the <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/russian-invasion-of-ukraine-imminent-what-you-need-to-know" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Russian invasion of Ukraine began</a> earlier this year, more than 10,500 people have travelled from Ukraine to Scotland.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Scottish government says that new arrivals are met with a network of “welcome hubs”, moving into temporary accommodation such as the MS Victoria or a hotel until alternative housing is arranged.</p> <p dir="ltr">The MS Victoria is docked at all times and guarded, with residents able to arrive and leave whenever they like.</p> <p dir="ltr">Other families, including Tanya Munawar, her husband Khashif, and their five-year-old daughter Marcia, told the <em>BBC </em>they were given “a very warm welcome” when they arrived in Scotland and hoped to settle in the local area.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I'm an immigration consultant and since we arrived here on 26 July I have been trying to find us accommodation to rent and a job,” Khashif said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I've been applying to hotels to be a housekeeping supervisor. We plan to stay here and work. It really helps that we can speak English.</p> <p dir="ltr">"My daughter is small and is feeling good, as long as she is with her parents she won't be affected by this."</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-9e0c4e95-7fff-1195-3bd5-830a54906dd2"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Marko Stampehl (AS Tallink Group)</em></p>

Cruising

Placeholder Content Image

Cats declared an “invasive alien species” in Poland

<p dir="ltr">A scientific institute in Poland has categorised domestic cats as an “invasive alien species”, joining a menagerie of animals on their invasive species list.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Polish Academy of Sciences has deemed the house cat (Felis catus) as an “alien” species as it was domesticated in the Middle East, and “invasive” due to the “negative influence of domestic cats on native biodiversity”, according to a statement.</p> <p dir="ltr">Cats join a long list of animals and plants deemed an “invasive alien species” by the institute, including Japanese knotweed, racoons, clearwing moths and mandarin ducks.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Academy states that cats pose “an unpredictable risk to local wildlife”, citing <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989418303196?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a study</a> that shows cats kill 41.1 million mammals and 8.9 million birds each year, eating an additional 583.4 million mammals and 135.7 birds.</p> <p dir="ltr">Wojciech Solarz, a biologist at the state-run institute, told <a href="https://apnews.com/article/science-poland-wildlife-cats-birds-b942a55135832d085375de73c9cc2e23?user_email=d892765ed707c6b27af3429c2e8ec0607119ec5a15758542d760a9bac7b882a8&amp;utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=July27_MorningWire&amp;utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AP</a> that the criteria to be declared an alien invasive species “are 100 percent met by the cat”.</p> <p dir="ltr">However, cat owners and lovers have expressed outrage at the decision, arguing it could incite abuse or mistreatment of cats, with concerned commenters declaring it “simply stupid and harmful” on the Academy’s Facebook page.</p> <p dir="ltr">AP has also reported that some media reports have incorrectly given the impression that the Academy was calling for cats to be euthanized.</p> <p dir="ltr">Solarz told the outlet he hadn’t expected such a response, adding that no other entry on their database of invasive and alien species had resulted in such an emotional response.</p> <p dir="ltr">He suggested that the negative feedback may be due to a misunderstanding that the Academy was implying that people harm their cats.</p> <p dir="ltr">In actuality, the Academy has only recommended that cat owners limit the amount of time their pets spend outdoors during bird breeding season.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-3485969e-7fff-54f6-de1d-11099865d6bb"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Getty Images</em></p>

Family & Pets

Placeholder Content Image

US Olympic gold medallist jailed by Russian court

<p>US Olympic gold medallist Brittney Griner has been charged with drug possession and smuggling, and sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison. </p> <p>The 31-year-old basketball champion listened to the judge's verdict with a blank expression as an interpreter translated the ruling by Judge Anna Sotnikova, with her lawyers later saying she was "very upset." </p> <div class="block-content" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 16px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <p>Griner also was fined 1 million rubles, or approximately $23,110.</p> <p>Brittney pled guilty to the charges, but admitted she "had no intention of breaking Russian law", as she explained that she accidentally packed the cannabis vape canisters in haste before her flight. </p> <p>US President Joe Biden denounced Brittney's verdict and sentence as "unacceptable", which came amid soaring tensions between the US and Russia over the ongoing war in Ukraine.</p> <p>"I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates," Biden said, adding that he would continue to work to bring home Griner and Paul Whelan, an American imprisoned in Russia on an espionage conviction.</p> <p>Griner, who is recognised as one of the greatest players in WNBA history, has been detained in Russia since February 17 after police said they found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage upon landing at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport.</p> <p>She was returning to Russia, where she has competed since 2014.</p> <p>Defence attorney Maria Blagovolina told reporters later that Griner was "very upset, very stressed"</p> <p>"She can hardly talk. It's a difficult time for her," the lawyer said.</p> <p>Griner's agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas tweeted that the sentence "was severe by Russian legal standards and goes to prove what we have known all along, that Brittney is being used as a political pawn".</p> <p>She added that she supported Biden's efforts "to get a deal done" to get Brittney sent home to the US.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> </div>

Legal

Placeholder Content Image

Murdered schoolgirl’s mum charged with home invasion

<p dir="ltr">The mother of murdered school girl Charlise Mutten has been charged for allegedly breaking into a home in the Blue Mountains. </p> <p dir="ltr">Police will allege Kallista Mutten, 39, accompanied her fiancé Justin Stein with breaking into a home in the Blue Mountains and taking firearms. </p> <p dir="ltr">Stein, 31, is accused of murdering Kallista’s daughter Charlise and is in custody where he maintains his innocence. </p> <p dir="ltr">The nine-year-old schoolgirl was staying with Stein over the summer holidays and was reported missing on January 14. </p> <p dir="ltr">Four days later, her body was found stuffed inside a barrel near the Colo River with a gunshot wound.</p> <p dir="ltr">There is no suggestion that her mother had anything to do with the murder.</p> <p dir="ltr">However, as investigations ensued, police found two firearms and ammunition near where Charlise was brutally murdered. </p> <p dir="ltr">Police are yet to confirm whether or not the firearms were used in Charlise’s murder.</p> <p dir="ltr">Police will further allege that Stein broke into a home in the Blue Mountains and stole the firearms in August last year. </p> <p dir="ltr">In May, police charged Stein with acquiring the two weapons during a home invasion in Mount Wilson.</p> <p dir="ltr">On July 26, police charged Kallista with allegedly accompanying Stein, with the break and entering of the property. </p> <p dir="ltr">“A woman’s been charged over her alleged role in a home invasion that was uncovered as part of ongoing investigations into the alleged murder of a girl in the Blue Mountains earlier this year,” NSW police said in a statement.</p> <p dir="ltr">“A 39-year-old woman attended Campbelltown Police Station on Tuesday where she was charged with aggravated break and enter in company.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: NSW Police/ABC</em></p>

News

Placeholder Content Image

Nurse who lost both legs to Russian landmine gets married in hospital

<p>The first dance is a big moment for any bride and groom, but it was even more special for Oksana and Victor.</p> <p>Oksana lost both her legs on a Russian landmine in March, in their home town of Lysychansk, located in the Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine region of Luhansk.</p> <p>The explosion didn't injure Victor, although they were together at the time, but the bride lost both of her legs as well as four fingers on her left hand.</p> <p>Oksana underwent four surgeries and was later evacuated to Dnipro to recover and prepare for prosthetics, and eventually to Lviv, in the west near the Polish border.</p> <p>As she waited for the next part of the healing process, the couple, who have two children together, took the opportunity to wed in a Lviv hospital last week.</p> <p>“Life should not be postponed until later, decided Oksana and Victor, who in six years together never found time for marriage," Lviv Medical Association said, sharing video of the couple's special moment.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">❤️🇺🇦 Very special lovestory.<br />A nurse from Lysychansk, who has lost both legs on a russian mine, got married in Lviv. On March 27, Victor and Oksana were coming back home, when a russian mine exploded. The man was not injured, but Oksana's both legs were torn off by the explosion. <a href="https://t.co/X1AQNwKwyu">pic.twitter.com/X1AQNwKwyu</a></p> <p>— Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine - Ukrainian Parliament (@ua_parliament) <a href="https://twitter.com/ua_parliament/status/1521194382682202113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p>The footage was also shared by Ukraine's Parliament, which wished the couple well in their new life together. The sweet dance shows the groom carrying his new wife in his arms as she buries her head in her husband's neck.</p> <p>The couple are said to have wed at a local registry office before the hospital reception took place. Oksana is set to travel to Germany for further treatment.</p> <p><em>Image: Twitter </em></p>

Relationships

Placeholder Content Image

Couple in strife for flinging dog poo at Russian neighbour

<p>A couple who allegedly threw dog poo at their Russian neighbour and threatened him are now facing ethnic discrimination charges.</p> <p>Over the past few weeks, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police has been investigating several incidents of harassment and intimidation directed at the Russian man.</p> <p>Police said yard signs were defaced with political and anti-national messages, a bag of rice with a similar message was thrown onto his property and he was subject to coarse language and threats.</p> <p>The messages condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin, and dog poo was left in the yard. According to police, an immediate neighbour and his family have reported being harassed almost everyday since Russia invaded Ukraine.</p> <p>One of the victims of this abuse was identified as Vasily Potanin, his father Vladimir Potanin is a multi-billionaire and used to be Russia's deputy prime minister.</p> <p>Mr Potanin says he does not support Russia's attack on Ukraine.</p> <p>“They assume that just because of my nationality, I must be profiting from that. I’m Putin’s spy. I work for him. All this nonsense,” he said.</p> <p>“Honestly I think for them, the best thing that can happen is they can have the consequences legally for their actions and they should face them.”</p> <p>Mr Potanin said he had received hateful messages in the mail, ordering him to leave the neighbourhood in which he has resided for four years.</p> <p><em>Image: Pittsburgh Police</em></p>

Legal

Placeholder Content Image

Kevin Rudd sounds alarm over Chinese invasion

<p dir="ltr">Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has spoken out about the chance of Taiwan being invaded by China and detailed several ways Australia can avoid “sleepwalking into war”, as reported by <em><a href="https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/military/former-pm-kevin-rudds-chilling-china-warning/news-story/feadbf7e68e90a4c3789a59802eb59af" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news.com.au</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Appearing on ABC’s <em>7.30 </em>on Wednesday night, Mr Rudd said few in the West realised how much Chinese leader Xi Jinping wanted to gain control of Taiwan.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s right up there next to Xi Jinping’s desire for the party to remain in power and for him to be the predominant leader within the Communist Party of China,” he said.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-374d4e77-7fff-21ab-e2d0-138f8ec508ae"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Rudd said there were only two things preventing China from invading Taiwan: questions of militaristic dominance and the risk of being slapped with similar sanctions to Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.</p> <p><iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FMrKRudd%2Fvideos%2F804940963809595%2F&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=560&amp;t=0" width="560" height="429" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p dir="ltr">“There has been a little too much excited commentary in the West about how China will seize on this strategic opportunity to move on Taiwan. I don’t think that’s the case,” Mr Rudd said.</p> <p dir="ltr">However, the former PM did note that the dynamic could shift if the balance of both military and economic power “continues to change in China’s favour”.</p> <p dir="ltr">He added that an invasion of Taiwan would likely be amphibious, unlike Russia’s land-based “blitzkrieg” invasion of Ukraine, and that war game modelling conducted by the US suggests that China would come out on top by just a thin margin.</p> <p dir="ltr">“In most of the war gaming which has been done so far - and these are desktop exercises by and large - if you look at what various US officials have said off the record and partly reported in the American media, the Chinese at this stage win most of the time,” Mr Rudd said.</p> <p dir="ltr">He said recent events meant the situation was being watched very closely by all parties, and that a potential invasion would depend on what the Taiwanese and US does next.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Taiwanese, for the first time in a very long time, I think, are now readdressing their national defence idea needs and I think they will be looking very carefully at the fight which the Ukrainians have put up against Russia,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I think it really does depend … on how much more the Taiwanese and the Americans do.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Rudd said Australia’s role should be to encourage the US and other allies towards deterring any invasion, and that working with allies in Japan, South Korea and India was crucial to avoid “sleepwalking into war”.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5e2d1395-7fff-51cf-8223-dca3ce5c7818"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Kevin Rudd (Facebook)</em></p>

Travel Trouble

Placeholder Content Image

Energy bills are spiking after the Russian invasion. We should have doubled-down on renewables years ago

<p>Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is happening half a planet away from Australia. </p> <p>But the ripple effects are plain to see at every petrol station and, potentially soon, your electricity bill. </p> <p>As a result of the invasion and Western sanctions on Russian exports, energy prices have skyrocketed. </p> <p>If that makes you think nations should have taken steps to secure alternatives to fossil fuels years ago, you’re not alone. As it is, the much higher energy prices are likely to accelerate the exit of coal – and gas – from our energy grids. </p> <p>This should be a wake-up call. It doesn’t matter that Australia is far from the battlefield. Everyone in the world will be affected in some way.</p> <h2>What’s the link between the invasion and Australian energy prices?</h2> <p>You might think Australia’s domestic supply of coal and gas means we’d be immune to price rises. Not so. </p> <p>Due to formal sanctions and informal shunning of Russian exports, oil, coal and gas are now extremely expensive on a global scale. Thermal coal prices have increased five-fold to an unprecedented ~$A500 per tonne. Oil is ~$140 a barrel and up 60% year on year. Natural gas in Europe is around 50% higher than last October, but since the invasion, prices have spiked as high as ~200% higher than 2021 levels. </p> <p>Coal buyers are locking in supply, concerned that Russian sanctions will continue. Russia is the <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/commodity-insights/en/market-insights/latest-news/metals/030722-factbox-russian-metals-industrys-reliance-on-china-set-to-rise-as-sanctions-disrupt-supplies">third largest exporter of coal</a> and its existing customers are now under pressure to find alternative supplies. </p> <p>Russia’s aggression is not just resulting in a major humanitarian and political crisis. It is also causing pain at the bowser for Australian consumers due to the surge in oil pricing and may soon result in higher electricity bills. </p> <p>Australia’s east-coast electricity market is still heavily reliant upon coal. While many coal-fired power stations have existing supply contracts, the much higher global coal price may increase the cost of any extra coal purchases by existing power stations. </p> <p>Not only that, but our gas-fired power stations are facing potential increases in operating costs due to much higher global gas prices. </p> <p>Unfortunately, we may see the result in rising power bills. The price of future contracts for wholesale electricity next year in NSW are now twice what they were a year ago. Assuming this flows through to end-users, prices for residential customers could increase by as much as 10–15%. </p> <h2>So what should Australia do?</h2> <p>While it’s too late to dodge this bullet, we can prepare for future shocks by doubling down on firmed renewables. The faster we move, the less we’ll be hit by the price and reliability risks of coal. </p> <p>Already under pressure from cheaper renewable technologies, coal power station operators now find themselves potentially facing much higher costs in the short-term. There’s no relief for coal in the long term either, with the rapid rise of renewables and other zero-carbon technologies.</p> <p>Not only that, but most of our coal power stations are near the end of their lives, and industry doesn’t want to build new ones. That means coal will become more and more expensive, as the plants become <a href="https://www.aemo.com.au/-/media/files/electricity/nem/planning_and_forecasting/inputs-assumptions-methodologies/2020/aep-elical-assessment-of-ageing-coal-fired-generation-reliability.pdf">increasingly unreliable</a>. </p> <p>Wind and solar technologies are now much cheaper per unit of energy generated and can be integrated with energy storage to provide dispatchable “firmed” energy. The faster we transition to renewables firmed by storage, the better.</p> <p>If we do this, our new grid will also be more reliable. Continuing to rely upon coal is like relying upon a 1970s car to travel from Sydney to Melbourne on the hottest day of the year. </p> <p>State governments around the nation are already embracing this approach, with the New South Wales government moving ahead with plans for 12 gigawatts (GW) of new renewables and storage and the Victorian government announcing plans for 9GW of offshore windfarms. </p> <p>Governments must carefully design policies to avoid guaranteeing profits for private sector players while socialising any losses across taxpayers and energy consumers. In NSW, <a href="https://econpapers.repec.org/article/blaajarec/v_3a66_3ay_3a2022_3ai_3a1_3ap_3a136-163.htm">alternatives</a> are being considered.</p> <p>As European and many other nations scramble to reduce their dependency on Russian coal, oil and gas, Australia now has a once in a generation opportunity to become a leading exporter of new clean energy. </p> <p>We have truly enormous clean energy resources in the form of free sunlight and wind. To export it, we can either run underseas cables to neighbouring countries, or convert cheap renewable power into <a href="https://theconversation.com/green-hydrogen-is-coming-and-these-australian-regions-are-well-placed-to-build-our-new-export-industry-174466">green hydrogen</a> and ship this to the world just as we currently do with LNG.</p> <h2>What else can we expect to see?</h2> <p>Surging fossil fuel prices has supercharged the existing disruption to an already rapidly changing domestic energy industry. In the past month, Origin announced it would abandon coal more rapidly, with the closure of its NSW coal-fired power station, Eraring, in 2025. </p> <p>Meanwhile, AGL has been pursuing a “demerger” with a view to splitting off its coal assets and pursuing new energy technologies. This comes as Australian tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes and Canadian asset fund Brookfield <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-06/brt-agl-brookfield-bid-rejected/100887042">offered to buy AGL</a> for $8.25 a share, though they were not successful. Their plan was to accelerate the closure of AGL’s coal assets, which would move AGL from the <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org.au/news/new-government-data-reveals-agl-as-australias-biggest-climate-polluter/">highest carbon emitter in Australia</a> to a clean energy company. The age of coal power is ending, and much faster than most of us realise.</p> <p>This crisis should spur us to build a future-proofed fleet of “firmed” and well-distributed renewables with a known cost structure. </p> <p>By doing this, we will protect ourselves from the pain of geopolitically driven fossil fuel prices. And we will have a platform ready if we want to provide clean energy to the world in the form of green hydrogen.</p> <p>We have had decades to make full use of our wealth of renewable energy resources. We haven’t embraced this as fully as we should have. </p> <p>It turns out localised clean energy production is not just necessary to tackle climate change. It will prove a vital resource as we navigate the highly turbulent decade we have found ourselves in.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images </em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/energy-bills-are-spiking-after-the-russian-invasion-we-should-have-doubled-down-on-renewables-years-ago-179336" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

Home Hints & Tips

Placeholder Content Image

“We can’t leave”: Russians accused of holding hospital staff and patients “hostage”

<p dir="ltr">Officials of Ukraine’s besieged city Mariupol <a href="https://www.news.com.au/world/russia-ukraine-war-updates-mariupol-hospital-staff-patients-taken-hostage/news-story/290f75e5198aed84789d7d8d27c3bc67" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have claimed</a> that 400 hospital staff and patients have been taken as “hostages” by Russian forces.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We received information that the Russian army captured our biggest hospital,” Sergei Orlov, Mariupol’s deputy mayor, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60757133" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told the BBC</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Pavlo Kirilenko, the head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, took to Facebook to share an account from a hospital employee who managed to communicate with authorities.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Russian occupiers in Mariupol took doctors and patients hostage,” Mr Kirilenko <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pavlokyrylenko.donoda/posts/506102444405648" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“One of the hospital employees had time to pass this news.</p> <p dir="ltr">“‘It is impossible to get out of the hospital. There is heavy shooting, we sit in the basement. Vehicles have not been able to drive to the hospital for two days. </p> <p dir="ltr">“‘The Russians forced 400 people from neighbouring houses to come to our hospital. We can’t leave’.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Kirilenko added that the hospital had been “practically destroyed” by the Russian forces, but that staff have continued to work and treat patients in the basement.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I appeal to international human rights organisations to respond to these vicious violations of the norms and customs of war, to these blatant crimes against humanity,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Russia and every citizen involved in crimes in Ukraine must be punished!”</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Kirilenko said the hospital holding the “hostages” was the same one that was damaged by a strike last week, as Mariupol continued to suffer constant shelling.</p> <p dir="ltr">Russian troops have surrounded the city for nearly two weeks, with gas, running water and electricity cut off to the estimated 350,000 residents trapped there.</p> <p dir="ltr">The local council said about 2,000 cars left the city on Tuesday, with 2,000 others waiting to leave.</p> <p dir="ltr">However, as food and medical supplies dwindle, no aid has been allowed in.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-fa019eb7-7fff-7fda-e018-45f8494a695a"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Legal

Placeholder Content Image

World first painless and non-invasive skin cancer treatment trialled in Australia

<p>Skin cancer patients in Australia are the first to be enrolled in a global trial of a new painless non-invasive treatment.</p> <p>The therapy called Rhenium-SCT uses a resin paste containing radioactive particles to kill non-melanoma skin cancers such as basal cell carcinoma.</p> <p>South Coast Radiology on the Gold Coast is the first to offer the new treatment as part of a study recruiting 200 patients, also involving patients in Sydney and Perth.</p> <p>Small published studies overseas have shown the therapy to be effective and well-tolerated but more evidence is needed.</p> <p>"The Rhenium-SCT has advantages in that it's a single treatment that is painless with a really good cosmetic outcome," said Dr Sam Vohra, OncoBeta Australia Medical Director.</p> <p>GenesisCare's Radiation Oncologist Associate Professor Sid Baxi treated the first patients in the study.</p> <p>"This is particularly useful for thin skin cancers, around three millimetres in-depth," he said.</p> <p>"We're looking at an approximate 90 percent clearance rate."</p> <p>He said about 500 patients around the world have already received the therapy with a follow-up of about two years.</p> <p>The latest trial will shed more light on its effectiveness, the side-effect profile and the patient's quality of life. Jan McGrath travelled from Sydney to the Gold Coast after she jumped at the chance to take part in the trials.</p> <p>"It just sounded amazing to be able to cure it without having to be cut, chopped and sewn," she said.</p> <p>"It was really easy, it didn't hurt at all."</p> <p>Jan wanted to avoid having a surgical graft after a basal cell carcinoma developed inside her ear.</p> <p>She has had about ten skin cancers removed in the past, including major surgery on her nose which took weeks to heal.</p> <p>"It's invasive, painful and takes a long time to recover," she said.</p> <p>The German-based innovators have partnered with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation to manufacture and deliver the radioactive particles at Lucas Heights.</p> <p><em>Image: 9News</em></p>

Body

Our Partners