Morning mail: Iran threatens US, false arson claims spread, climate wake-up call
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Version 0 of 1. Wednesday: Iran’s military says it’s prepared to use missiles on US bases in Middle East. Plus, the joy of giving up flying to travel by cargo ship Good morning, this is Helen Sullivan bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Wednesday 8 January. Top stories Iranian military forces have said they are prepared to use medium- to long-range missiles to attack US bases in the Middle East in revenge for the assassination of the country’s most senior general, Qassem Suleimani. Amid the turmoil, Donald Trump Jr has posted to Instagram a picture in which he posed with an assault rifle bearing a crusader symbol. It comes as dozens of people have been killed in a crush during a funeral ceremony for the Iranian military commander attended by hundreds of thousands of mourners in his home city of Kerman. At least 56 people have so far been confirmed dead, with more than 200 injured, according to Iranian media reports. During a brief period of cooler weather ahead of dangerous conditions expected later this week, communities have begun the grisly task of burying livestock killed by the bushfires that have ravaged Australia’s east coast. Across hundreds of kilometres, the first week of 2020 has seen a trail of destruction. More than 1,500 homes have been destroyed in New South Wales since the start of the unprecedented fire season, and a record-breaking area of land – 4.9m hectares, an area larger than Denmark – has been burned, according to the latest figures released by the Rural Fire Service. The damage in the beachside suburb of North Rosedale south of Batemans Bay is almost surreal. “It will take a long time to rebuild this place, a long time,” Dafydd Gwynn-Jones said. “But we absolutely will.” Bot and troll accounts are involved in a “disinformation campaign” exaggerating the role of arson in Australia’s bushfire disaster, social media analysis suggests. The bushfires burning across the nation have been accompanied by repeated suggestions of an arson epidemic or “arson emergency”. The false claims are, in some cases, used to undermine the link between the current bushfires and the longer, more intense fire seasons brought about by climate change. Australia Bernie Sanders’ economic adviser says Australia’s unprecedented bushfires are a wake-up call to the world about climate change, and the country should consider implementing a green new deal to transition to a low-carbon economy. Australia has ruled out a post-Brexit trade deal involving visa-free travel and work arrangements with the UK. The trade minister, Simon Birmingham, said he feared it could prompt a brain drain and an influx of low-skilled workers to Sydney and Melbourne. There are grave fears for Kangaroo Island’s unique wildlife after an estimated 25,000 were koalas killed in the bushfires. Fires on the South Australian island have so far burned through 155,000 hectares – about one third of the island’s entire area – with blazes concentrated in the biodiversity-rich western areas. The once pristine environment is now a barren burned land. Australia’s unprecedented bushfire crisis has prompted a wave of philanthropic responses. Donating and fundraising can be a complex endeavour. Guardian Australia spoke with several people running successful bushfire relief fundraisers to find out how to make the best of our collective goodwill. Interpreters working with Australian soldiers in Baghdad said they fear they will be abandoned in an increasingly dangerous and chaotic Iraq, after the country’s parliament voted to expel all foreign troops and Australia said it might be forced to pull out. The world In the second day of Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial in Manhattan, the judge threatened to put the movie mogul in jail for using his mobile phone in court, while defence lawyers protested that their client was not receiving a fair and impartial hearing. The EU’s opening negotiating position on the future relationship with the UK will lack detailed demands to avoid an early clash with Boris Johnson as both sides seek to take the heat out of the coming post-Brexit trade and security talks. Yemen has topped an annual watchlist of countries most likely to face humanitarian catastrophe in 2020, for the second year running. Continued fighting, economic collapse and weak governance mean that 80% of the population will be in need of humanitarian assistance this year. Elizabeth Wurtzel, who chronicled her life with depression in the bestselling memoir Prozac Nation, has died at the age of 52. Writer David Samuels, Wurtzel’s friend since childhood, told the New York Times that Wurtzel had died in New York on Tuesday from metastatic breast cancer. Recommended reads I didn’t want to fly – so I took a cargo ship from Germany to Canada, writes Will Vibert. “Recent campaigns such as the Swedish flygskam (flight shame) had shone a harsh light on my blindness to the climate impact of air travel, and I had decided that booking a flight wasn’t an option. Since 2017, I’d emitted over 14 tonnes of carbon from flights alone. I realised that all my efforts to reduce my carbon footprint at home in Milan are wiped out by just one flight between Canada and Europe. I anticipated a long and tiresome journey (I packed dozens of books and downloaded films) and had visions of gruelling nights spent with my face in a barf bag, but my experience on board could not have been more enjoyable.” Americans are dying because they can’t afford medical care. “After losing her job in May 2016, Susan Finley also lost her health insurance coverage and struggled to find a new job. Three months later, she was found dead in her apartment after avoiding going to see a doctor for flu-like symptoms. Finley is one of millions of Americans who avoid medical treatment due to the costs every year. A December 2019 poll conducted by Gallup found 25% of Americans say they or a family member have delayed medical treatment for a serious illness due to the costs of care, and an additional 8% report delaying medical treatment for less serious illnesses.” Listen On Today In Focus: the assassination of Qassem Suleimani. The US drone strike on Iran’s most influential general could transform the Middle East. The region’s correspondent, Martin Chulov, looks at what comes next. Plus: Catherine Shoard on the Golden Globes. Eat At his Sydney restaurants Automata and A1 Canteen, Clayton Wells is known for his innovative use of ferments, and flavourful east-meets-west ingredient combinations. Here’s a dinner party menu – of peaches, clams and cheesecake – to recreate the taste at home. Sport Stefanos Tsitsipas hurt his father in a remarkable mid-match meltdown during his clash with Australia’s Nick Kyrgios at the ATP Cup. Apostolos Tsitsipas, who coaches the 21-year-old, was caught by Tsitsipas’s angry racket swipe as he reacted to losing the opening set on a tie-break in Brisbane. The world No 6 was hit with a penalty point, warning by the umpire and a talking-to from his mother, Julia Apostoli. Ben Stokes has sealed a famous England victory at Newlands by 189 runs. “He was the man to snatch the last three wickets just when it seemed that a determined South Africa side might hang on for a draw. Hard-fought victories are the most satisfying and England had to toil for 137.4 overs for this one,” writes Vic Marks. Media roundup The Australian leads with: “The forest industry and the powerful CFMEU have called for fuel loads in national parks to be aggressively managed through hazard reduction burning and selective logging,” as the ABC reports that, “Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has moved to shut down calls for a massive increase in fuel reduction burns, as the state’s fire chief says the debate has involved ‘hysteria’ and an ‘emotional load of rubbish’”. Top of the Sydney Morning Herald homepage this morning: the British parliament has scheduled a debate on the Australian bushfire crisis. Coming up Ash Barty opens her WTA Brisbane campaign today. And if you’ve read this far … South Africa’s state-owned rail operator has apologised after passengers were left stranded for more than a day on a train from Johannesburg to Cape Town. |