If today is your first day back at work, welcome (and sorry!)
To help you ease into the new year, we thought we’d take you through some of the biggest news you might’ve missed from over the break.
These headlines include:
- More Epstein files
- Post Bondi attack legislation
- Aussie drownings
- Swiss NYE fire
- Capture of Venezuela’s leader
Let’s get into it!
‘Epstein files’
On 19 December, the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) released more of the ‘Epstein files’, a series of documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking conviction.
DoJ said it has “lawyers working around the clock... [making] redactions to protect victims,” on more than a million files.
Some of the files in the 19 December release include photos of former U.S. President Bill Clinton, former Prince of York Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and the late singer Michael Jackson.
Bondi attack
Following the Bondi Beach terror attack on 14 December, calls for a royal commission into antisemitism in Australia have continued to grow.
Among those petitioning are some of the victims’ families.
At a 22 December press conference, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese did not commit to a Commonwealth royal commission, arguing it would only delay action.
Later on the same day, the NSW Govt tightened gun, hate speech and protest laws, passing a bill that allows the Police Commissioner to restrict some protests for up to three months after a terrorist event.
On 23 December, Palestine Action Group Sydney, The Blak Caucus and Jews Against the Occupation '48 filed a legal challenge against the laws, which they called “outrageous”.
In response to this action, NSW Premier Chris Minns said: "In some instances, the organisers of these protests are unleashing forces that they can't control."
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Drownings
Since New Year’s Eve, there have been nine drowning deaths nationally.
On 31 December, a 47-year-old man and 16-year-old boy drowned near Palm Beach in Sydney; as well as a 35-year-old Irish man in the Whitsundays.
On 1 January, a 45-year-old woman drowned near Port Macquarie, NSW; a 25-year-old woman drowned near Maroubra; and a 22-year-old man drowned near Coogee.
A 32-year-old snorkeler was also unable to be found off the coast of Ledge Point, 100km north of Perth, on 1 January.
On 2 January, a man in his 50s drowned in Shoalhaven, NSW.
In Jervis Bay on 3 January, a 34-year-old man drowned.
Surf Life Saving NSW (SLSNSW) reported that the number of drownings in the state this summer is the second worst drowning toll in the last 10 years.
SLSNSW CEO Steve Pearce said that all of the drownings have taken place at “an unpatrolled location, outside of patrol hours or away from lifesaving services.”
Swiss NYE fire
At 1.30am (local time) on 1 January, a fire broke out at Le Constellation bar during NYE celebrations in the Swiss ski resort town of Crans-Montana.
Forty people aged between 14 and 39 years-old were killed, and over 100 more, including one Australian, were injured.
Swiss authorities are investigating the managers of the bar, telling local reporters they believe the fire started by “sparklers attached to champagne bottles that came too close to the ceiling.”
Venezuela
On 3 January, the U.S. conducted air strikes in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.
An operation directed by U.S. President Donald Trump involving 150 aircraft lasted for more than two hours, with U.S. troops capturing President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.
The pair is in a New York detention centre, with Maduro set to face federal charges in court today (local time).
In the meantime, Trump said the U.S. will “run” Venezuela, announcing that U.S. oil companies will return to the country, which has the world’s largest oil reserves.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the moves as a “dangerous precedent”.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the country supports “international law and a peaceful, democratic transition in Venezuela”.
