Afternoon Update is back after our holiday break, and we’re faced with yet another far-right insurrection to start the year.
“Fanatical Nazis” is how the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, described the throng of Jair Bolsonaro supporters who stormed the nation’s congress, presidential palace and supreme court seeking to overturn last year’s election results.
It comes almost two years to the day since far-right extremists attempted a similar coup in Washington – a fact not missed in the US. Democrat congressman Joaquin Castro accused Bolsonaro of using “the Trump playbook to inspire domestic terrorists to try and take over the government”.
World leaders were quick to condemn the rampage, including the US president, Joe Biden, who called it “an assault on democracy”. Biden is facing calls to expel Bolsonaro, who is residing in Florida.
Top news
Brazil’s Florida connection | Lula had to order federal security forces to take control of the capital Brasília after accusing local police of “incompetence, bad faith or malice”. Brazil’s solicitor general called for the arrest of the city’s security chief, Anderson Torres, who is a Bolsonaro ally and is currently in Orlando where Bolsonaro lives. Torres has denied meeting the far-right leader, insisting he is only holidaying in the same city as Bolsonaro’s current residence, at the same time the riots in Brasília are taking place.
‘Once-in-a-century’ WA floods | The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has announced a significant support package for flood victims in the Kimberley region. The PM is visiting the flood-stricken area which has seen towns isolated and hundreds fleeing their homes after Cyclone Ellie hit the region late last month.
Carbon credits review | Australia’s controversial carbon credits scheme – which is meant to incentivise landowners and companies to cut emissions and protect native forests – needs an overhaul, a review has found. But the review, spearheaded by former national chief scientist Prof Ian Chubb, dismissed claims from academics that the scheme lacked integrity and was not delivering cuts to emissions.
MMA star dies aged 18 | Victoria Lee, one of the world’s most promising young mixed martial artists, has died, her family confirmed. Lee was born and raised in Hawaii and had won her first three fights in the ONE Championship, the largest MMA promotion in Asia.
Turnbull criticises Aukus deal | The nuclear submarines to be supplied by the US will not be able to operate without US navy supervision, according to the former prime minister. Malcolm Turnbull said it amounts to an “abdication of Australian sovereignty” which was “effected by the Morrison government and now, apparently, endorsed and adopted by the Albanese government”.
Foul flower smell in Adelaide | If you’re walking through the Adelaide Botanic gardens this week, you’ll likely be hit with a foul stench that smells like dead rats. The corpse flower blooms once every few years and emits a hideous smell to lure flesh flies, sweat bees and carrion beetles. Fortunately, the bloom only lasts 48 hours.
Seattle schools sue social media giants | Seattle’s public schools district has filed a lawsuit against multiple social media companies, accusing them of harming young people’s mental health across the US. The lawsuit claimed the companies behind TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube had created a “mental health crisis among America’s youth”.
Russia-Belarus military exercises | Concerns are growing that Russia is trying to push Belarus into the war in Ukraine, after the two countries expanded their joint military training exercises in Belarus. Last week a senior Belarus military official said the joint Russian-Belarusian military force was being deployed as a “strategic deterrence”.
Full Story
Finding Afghanistan in the Australian outback
Hazara refugee and photographer Muzafar Ali fled Afghanistan in 2012. In his quest to find belonging in a new country, Muzafar goes back in time to the Afghan cameleers, who migrated to Australia 160 years ago and whose camel trains became the foundation of the rural economy.
What they said …
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“The US must cease granting refuge to Bolsonaro in Florida.” – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Ocasio-Cortez and Joaquin Castro, who is also a member of the US House foreign affairs committee, called for the expulsion of Bolsonaro.
In numbers
The steep decline in house values has run parallel with the Reserve Bank of Australia’s aggressive interest rate hikes over the same period. Sydney home values have led the downturn, falling 13% from their highest point. Brisbane prices have plummeted 10% and Melbourne home values have fallen 8.6%.
Before bed read
A lecturer in the US lost her job after sharing a 14th-century Persian depiction of the prophet Muhammad. The artwork came from within the Islamic tradition, sparking a debate – including among Muslims – about where to draw the line with regard to visual depictions of the prophet.
“What is striking about the Hamline incident, though, is that the image at the heart of the row cannot even in the most elastic of definitions be described as Islamophobic. It is an artistic treasure that exalts Islam and has long been cherished by Muslims,” Kenan Malik writes.
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