Indonesia's just announced Visa on Arrival at Bali airport for citizens of 42 countries.
The announcement comes with a couple of illustrations.
The first one has a handy list of The Lucky Countries.
And the second one portrays, well you'll get the point!
Some people just won't make the cut.
This is a critical appointment.
National news editor for Australia's largest media organisation.
Before we get to the ABC's press release announcing Justin Stevens appointment to run the show and decide what is and isn't news, here are just a few of our reports on him.
How very ABC to put him in charge.
The ABC is pleased to announce Justin Stevens has been appointed Director, ABC News, Analysis and Investigations.
Justin brings extensive journalism experience and editorial leadership to the position built across two decades and senior editorial positions in current affairs.
In his former role as 7.30 Executive Producer, Justin has for four years been responsible for leading and managing the ABC’s agenda-setting flagship daily current affairs program.
His appointment as Director follows a comprehensive recruitment process involving both internal and external applicants.
The appointment is effective from Monday 4 April.
ABC Managing Director David Anderson:
“Justin has a proven track record in editorial leadership across complex issues and events. Together with the ABC News Executive team, Justin will lead the next stage of the ABC News strategy to be more accessible, valuable and relevant to Australians across all platforms, with the highest quality journalism always at the core.
“Justin fully understands the challenges and opportunities the ABC faces as an essential public service in the digital media era.
“I want to thank the members of the ABC News Executive for their support during this recruitment process, especially Gavin Fang, who has done an exceptional job acting in the News Director role and who will continue to play a crucial role in the work of ABC News into the future.
“This is a key appointment for the ABC and it comes amid major news events – the continuing effects of the COVID pandemic, the war in Ukraine, domestic issues such as the rising cost of living, and the upcoming federal election.
“It’s a position that requires exceptional editorial leadership, and Justin will be outstanding in the role.”
Justin Stevens:
“I’m incredibly proud to be part of ABC News and it’s an honour to be given the opportunity to lead this great team.
“The ABC celebrates 90 years this year and ABC News is a huge part of its proud heritage.
“Australians trust ABC News to deliver the quality public interest journalism and services they need and which are a key part of a healthy democracy. That job is more vital than ever.”
About Justin Stevens
Justin’s first job in the media was in 2005 as a researcher for the Nine Network on Sunday and for Geoffrey Robertson’s Hypotheticals.
He joined the ABC in December 2006 and worked as a producer and a supervising producer on 7.30 until 2014. His work there included producing key Australian political and feature interviews for presenters Kerry O’Brien and Leigh Sales, including with Barack Obama, Tony Blair, Sir David Attenborough, Woody Allen and the Dalai Lama, and working on breaking news coverage.
In 2013 he was a producer on the four-part ABC series “Keating: the Interviews” with Kerry O’Brien.
In 2014-2015 he was a producer on the three-part series “The Killing Season” with Sarah Ferguson, which won an AACTA Award for Best Documentary and a Logie Award for outstanding public affairs report.
From 2015-2017 Justin worked on Four Corners, producing programs including the Hillary Clinton interview special; a money laundering investigation; the “Leaders” election special; profiles of Clive Palmer and Bill Shorten; and a program on territorial disputes in the South China Sea. He produced “The Siege”, the two-part special on Sydney’s Lindt Café siege which won the 2018 Logie Award for outstanding news coverage.
In 2018 Justin was appointed Executive Producer of national nightly current affairs flagship 7.30, leading a team that sets the news agenda, goes in-depth on the biggest stories of the day and investigates and breaks stories of national significance.
Night after night, 7.30 delivers the key interviews with the top politicians, public figures and newsmakers from Australia and around the world. Its extensive record of public interest journalism includes long-running investigations on topics such as the Centrelink “robodebt” scheme and Melbourne’s quarantine hotel inquiry; breaking stories on decisions in grant allocations by former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian; in-depth reporting on Indigenous issues; and extensive reporting out of regional and rural Australia.
Under Justin’s watch 7.30 has grown its broadcast and digital audience. In 2021 its national audience averaged 980,000 viewers a night with an audience share of almost 13% in metro markets and 12.5% in regional areas.
Read the Backstory on Justin Stevens.
About ABC NEWS
ABC NEWS is Australia’s most trusted source of news and information, committed to providing public interest journalism and services that are accessible, relevant and valuable for all Australians.
ABC NEWS has newsrooms in each state and territory capital plus Parramatta, Geelong and Ipswich, and overseas posts in Bangkok, Beirut, Istanbul (from May 2022), Jakarta, Jerusalem, London, New Delhi, Port Moresby, Taipei, Tokyo and Washington. It also draws on the reporters and teams working in the ABC’s network of regional and local newsrooms throughout Australia.
ABC NEWS programs and services include:
For more information
Nick Leys, ABC Communications
[email protected]
The US Federal Election Commission has found the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign were not truthful about their links to funding the infamous, and discredited, Russian “dossier” used by our ABC 4 Corners and others against Donald Trump.
The FEC found that Clinton and the DNC broke the law by describing expenditures of payments funneled to the opposition research firm Fusion GPS through their law firm. In short, they tried to cover their tracks in funding the bullshit dossier by routing the roughly $1M payments through a law firm and calling it 'legal expenses'.
Congratulations to the Coolidge Reagan Foundation which brought the action against the Hillary Clinton Campaign and the Democrat National Committee/Convention, which has just resulted in findings against Clinton's team and the DNC, along with financial penalties.
Can't wait for Australia's ABC 4 Corners to follow up their Trump/Russia Story of the Century with this news!
Here's an extract from The Coolidge Foundation's 2018 complaint against Hillary & the DNC.
For over a year (by 2018), Democratic officials have accused the Trump Administration of collaborating with foreign interlopers to influence the outcome of the 2016 Presidential election. In reality, it was the Clinton-backed Democratic machine that conspired with foreigners in violation of both federal campaign finance law and basic decency to manipulate the election. The Clinton campaign weaponized American intelligence and law enforcement communities—led by Democratic appointees of President Barack Obama—through false, malicious, wholly manufactured lies about the Republican nominee, now President, Donald J. Trump.
Using their law firm, Perkins Coie, LLP, as a front to shield their illegal machinations from public scrutiny, Hillary for America and the Democratic National Committee (“DNC”) worked with British national Christopher Steele to generate and disseminate the so-called “Steele Dossier”—a collection of lies and spurious allegations against the President compiled at great cost. The dossier was valuable due to the substantial and illegally unreported cost of generating it, its use in attempting to sway the outcome of the election, and the veneer of credibility it possessed as a result of the various sources of information from which it was derived and the obfuscation of its origin as a politically motivated campaign trick. Many of the dossier’s allegations against President Trump stem from current and former Russian government officials.
Thus, the Clinton campaign, not Trump, collaborated with the Russians in a desperate, and ultimately failed, attempt to steal the election.
And here's the FEC letter advising the Coolidge Foundation of the result of its complaint, along with the agreed findings, fines and undertakings against Team Hillary and the DNC.
Fec by Paul Bedard
PRIME MINISTER: Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Mr President, Ukraine and Australia are separated by half the Earth. Our languages, accents, histories and cultures are different, but we share an affinity for democracy, for freedom, freedom of speech, expression and a free press. For the right to live free of coercion, intimidation and the brute fist of force. And a belief in our shared human dignity.
Mr President, the people of Australia stand with Ukraine in your fight for survival. Yes, you have our prayers, but you also have our weapons, our humanitarian aid, our sanctions against those who seek to deny your freedom and you even have our coal. And there will be more.
Today, I announce an additional package of defensive military assistance to assist in the defence of your homeland, including tactical decoys, unmanned aerial and unmanned ground systems, rations and medical supplies.
Mr President, our pledge is that when freedom prevails, Australia will help the people of Ukraine rebuild as well. Here today in the home of Australia's democracy, we welcome you, Mr President, as a lion of democracy. We honour you and the incredible courage of your people whom you lead. We are witnesses to it with all of those around the world, as you call them, strong people of an indomitable country and may that be so.
We stand with you, Mr President, and we do not stand with the war criminal of Moscow, Mr President. I know that man. You know that man. We know that man, Mr Speaker. And we know his regime. We have seen them unleash unspeakable horror against your children, your hospitals and shelters.
And we remember the downing of a civilian airliner carrying 298 innocents, including 38 Australians. And we remember them also on this day. In their name and in the name of 25 million Australians and their elected representatives, I welcome you, Mr President. I welcome you to our Parliament. I welcome a great friend of Australia.
Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, ladies and gentlemen, members of the government, senators and members of the parliament, the people of Australia.
Thank you for this honour to have this address. Today, in May 2016 thousands of Australians came to the city of Perth to see for the first time the Ukrainian plane Mriya – or Dream as we call it. Mriya in English means dream.
Having travelled almost 15,000 kilometres it had brought an urgent cargo – a power generator of 130 tonne – which was very important to one of your companies. If they had to wait for the shipment through the sea it would have taken months and the Ukrainian plane has done it in a couple of days.
We have always been proud of our Dream, not because it was the largest, but because it was helping people in all countries of the world bringing food, water, equipment for humanitarian and peacekeeping missions.
In 2019 after the beginning of the Covid pandemics, Dream was bringing the most urgent medical cargo, things that were saving people’s lives, adults and children, all over the world in different countries.
Dream was bringing life – now this is not possible. This is not possible because there is a country which holds to completely different values. Different from our values, from your values, from the values of the civilised world and this country started a full fledged war against us.
They are shelling our cities and villages, they are killing our civilians and children. They are creating sieges of our cities and holding hostages of hundreds of thousands of people in these cities without water and food. They are abducting thousands of children that they transport to their territories.
On the 27 February as a result of fighting in the city of Hostomel our plane, our Dream, was destroyed. We can say that Russia destroyed our Dream? No they just burnt down a plane – hardware, a shell, but not the essence, not the freedom, not the dignity, nor our independence.
We know that our dream is undefeatable and undestructed especially if we can count on the support of the free world. On your support, on your assistance and like in the history that I just told, we need it not just in a couple of months, but we need it urgently now.
Ladies and gentlemen. The people of Australia. The distance between our countries is big. There’s thousands of kilometres we are separated by oceans, seas and territories of dozens of other countries and time zones. But there is no such thing as distance for the brutality and chaos that Russia brought to the east of Ukraine into the region of our Black Sea and Azov Sea, to our Ukrainian land.
Whatever is happening in our region because of the Russian war is destroying the lives of people. It has become a real threat to your country and to your people as well, because it is the nature of the evil – it can instantly cross any distance, any barriers, destroy lives.
For dozens of years there hasn't been this threat of nuclear attack as we have now because Russian representatives, officials, official propagandists they are openly discussing the possibility of using nuclear weapons against those who don’t want to subdue to Russian commands.
And for dozens of years it has never been that a country would block the whole sea for other vessels of any country but this is exactly what was done by Russia. Part of the Black and Azov sea is a dead seas these days. Any vessel that will try to come in can simply be destroyed by the Russian navy.
More than hundreds of trade vessels under different flags have been blocked by Russia in our ports.
For dozens of years we haven’t seen this in the world, for a country to start a war against their neighbouring country, openly declaring their enslavement or destruction. Not to leave even the name of that nation, not to have even any opportunity for this nation to live freely.
The worst pages of the 20th Century have been brought back by Russia already the biggest threats of that century came back. The evil that humanity thought they had forgotten about a long time ago.
But the most terrible thing, if we don’t stop Russia now, if we don’t hold Russia accountable, then some other countries of the world who are looking forward to a similar war against their neighbours will decide that such things are possible for them as well.
The fate of the global security is decided now. No one can manage winds or precipitations, it means no one can save any part of the world from radioactive contamination which will come if nuclear weapons are used.
No country in the world should have even the theoretical possibility of blocking trade fleets and block the seas for other countries. There shouldn’t be even theoretical possibility to do so.
No leader of the world can count on being unpunishable if he is thinking about back to war.
Ladies and gentlemen, the nation of Australia. After more than a month of the full-fledged war against Russia we can surely say that there is only one way of bringing the global security as bringing Russia to peace and silence and responsibility and accountability for everything that Russia has done against the global security.
The country which is using the nuclear blackmailing should receive the sanctions which would show that such blackmailing is destructive for the blackmailer itself. There has to be an effect toolkit to hold responsible any country which is blocking the trade navigation, so for no one to have a temptation to close any sea and make a dead sea out of them.
So far we don’t have such instruments, so the leadership of Australia can be paramount for the global security which is now strengthened by our anti-war coalition which is working in bringing peace back to Ukraine.
We need to also enhance the capabilities of the international institutions which were created to hold military war criminals responsible and anyone who would commit such crimes to have them punished by the solidarity of the whole world and not one country.
Had this been done on time, in a timely manner, life on this world would have been more secure and I’m sure that any of you, any of us, remembers the 17 May tragedy, the Malaysian Boeing that was shot down by Russian occupants over the Donbas Sea.
290 people died at that time and my condolences to all those who have lost relatives and their kins.
But did we manage to hold accountable those who caused this tragedy? No, they are hiding in the territory of Russia. Obviously they’ve got security guarantees from Russia.
Has Russia paid the compensation to the dead and their families? No, and they are still denying their fault in this tragedy.
Eight years later the justice was not achieved and we don’t know how much longer it will take for at least one tragedy to have a proper response from an international community, from all of us and how many new tragedies Russia has created or will create.
So the unpunished evil comes back and I would say unpunished evil comes back with inspiration, with the feeling of almightiness. If the world had punished Russia in 2014 for what it did, there wouldn’t be any of this terror of invasion in Ukraine in 2022.
We have to correct such horrible mistakes and correct them now. The bipartisan support of Australia of Ukraine for the support that has been provided we are extremely grateful. 70,000 tonnes of coal for our energy, this is only the beginning, together we can and should do more.
We need new sanctions against Russia – powerful sanctions – until they stop blackmailing other countries with their nuclear missiles and they have to pay the highest price for blocking the sea.
No Russian vessel should be allowed in other international ports. Buying their oil means paying for the destruction of the global security. We have to stop any business activity of Russia. No single dollar should be spent for the destruction of the people.
We have to stop any intention of Russia to bypass the sanctions. So what kind of sanctions are those if you can bypass by using simple, un-cunning schemes?
But most of all we have to keep those who are fighting against this evil armed, for the evil to be looking for peace, and this has to be decided on the battlefield.
For example you have very good armoured personnel vehicle, Bushmaster, that could help Ukraine substantially and other pieces of equipment that could strengthen our position in terms of armament.
If you have an opportunity to share this with us we would be very grateful. In Ukraine they will do much more for our common freedom and our common security than staying parked on your land
Ukrainian people have demonstrated to the whole world how much we appreciate the freedom and how committed are we to the protection thereof. our heroes are fighting against the army which is considered one of the strongest in the world, but all our people without exception already are thinking about the future, about how we are going to live after the war. About restoring our country, our Black Sea region, and we invite prominent countries of the world, leading companies and the best experts to join the project of restoration of Ukraine. To take the city or the sector under your auspices that would require restoration.
Your country has provided a special status, a like-minded country. And we are like-minded not only in our thoughts but also in our longing for peace.
So I would like to invite and welcome your country to have a look at our southern regions, at the Azov and the Black Sea shore the development of such ports and cities like the city of Kherson which is now fighting for its freedom.
The rebuilding of the naval sector in Ukraine could also be a great contribution in the restoration after the war with the protection of the free naval training would be a big contribution because those who can protect freedom in the sea can protect it in the world.
I’m sure and I believe that you can do it and I am sure that our Ukrainian community will join this common work of ours and that it will support us as strong as they have done it in the past.
Dear friends, the geographical distance between us is huge, thousands of kilometres. but what does this distance mean for those who have common understanding, who see the world with the same vision, for those who are similarly hurting what is happening when the enemy comes, when children are killed and cities are destroyed. When refugees are shot at on the highways. When Ukraine is turned into the burned out territory then any distances disappear. Geography doesn’t matter then.
What matters is humanity and the dream. The dream of bringing back the peaceful life. The dream that we will implement indeed, together.
Thank you Australia.
Slava Ukraini.
Solomon Islands Ministers of Foreign Affairs and External Trade Hon Jeremiah Manele and Minister of Police and National Security and Correctional Services, the Hon Anthony Veke jointly announced that officials of Solomon Islands and the Peoples Republic of China have initialed elements of a bilateral Security Cooperation Framework between the two countries today.
The draft Framework Agreement will be cleaned up and await signatures of the two countries Foreign Ministers.
Solomon Islands reiterate that the Framework of Cooperation is to respond to Solomon Islands soft and hard domestic threats. Solomon Islands continue to roll out the implementation of its National Security Strategy and uphold its Foreign Policy of “Friends to all and enemies to none.”
The country will work with all partners in providing a safe and secure nation where all people are able to co-exist peacefully.
Solomon Islands seeks greater security partnership with other partners and neighbours and once again express its deep gratitude and sincere appreciation to Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Fiji for the presence of their Security Personnel in Solomon Islands.
We thank their respective governments and peoples for the service of their professionals whom we welcome and acknowledge with a thankful heart.
-GCU Press
Stop Press!
China has just completed its first round of Chinese Communist-stye Public Order Management training for the Solomons Police.
Fourteen officers from Police Response Team (PRT) and Operational Safety Training (OST) of the Royal Solomon Island Police Force (RSIPF) have completed the first Public Order Management (POM) training conducted by China Police Liaison Team (CPLT) on 25 March 2022 at Rove Police Headquarters.
A group photo after the closing of the first POM training program
During the two weeks training beginning from 14 March 2022, RSIPF officers have received the training on drill, unarmed combat skills, advanced usage of long sticks, round shields, tactical batons, T-shape baton, handcuffs, basic rifle tactics and crowd control.
All these trainings are relevant and practical aiming at increasing the capability of RSIPF officers to effectively respond to different kinds of emergencies when the need arise.
At the end of the training, the instructors from CPLT and RSIPF assessed all the fourteen officers for their competencies. There will be a second POM training conducted for Central Response Unit (CRU) and Provincial Response Unit (PRU) from 2 to 15 May 2022.
Deputy Commissioner (DC) National Security and Operation Support Mr Ian Vaevaso says, I am extremely happy that RSIPF is receiving such policing capacity development training. This will very much help boost the capability of RSIPF officers to handle various situations when it comes to public disorders.
DC Ian Vaevaso says I would like to thank the CPLT for the commitment and dedication in making sure the first training is done successfully and looking forward to working closely with your team to deliver the remaining training package to RSIPF officers.
-RSIPF Press
The Ukrainian sailor who told a Russian warship to “go f–k yourself” as he helped try to defend Snake Island was awarded a government medal in a video posted by Ukraine on Tuesday.
Hero seaman Roman Hrybov received the award “For Merits to Cherkasy Region” from Regional Gov. Ihor Taburets.
Hrybov was one of a handful of sailors manning the defenses of Snake Island in the Black Sea during the early hours of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last month.
When Russian naval craft the Valisy Bykov ordered Hrybov and his comrades to surrender, the brave sailor reportedly replied by radio, “Russian warship, go f–k yourself.”
The reply prompted the Valisy Bykov to bombard the island.
Hrybov and the other Snake Island defenders were initially declared dead, until it became clear they’d been captured by Russian forces. His retort became a rallying cry in the early days of the Ukrainian resistance.
The Valisy Bykov was reportedly destroyed two weeks later by Ukrainian forces defending Odessa.
The captured Ukrainian sailors were freed last week in a prisoner swap, and Hrybov’s award ceremony was held soon after.
In an interview with Ukrainian outlet Today, Hrybov’s mother said her son had never bowed to anyone.
“By the way, I have never in my life heard my son swear at me,” Tatiana Hrybov added.