Statues of Indigenous Australians outside the old Parliament House in Canberra. AFP
Statues of Indigenous Australians outside the old Parliament House in Canberra. AFP
Statues of Indigenous Australians outside the old Parliament House in Canberra. AFP
Statues of Indigenous Australians outside the old Parliament House in Canberra. AFP

Indigenous Australians vow silence after referendum fails


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Indigenous Australian leaders on Sunday called for a week of silence and reflection after a referendum to recognise First Peoples in the constitution was decisively rejected.

More than 60 per cent of Australians voted "No" in the landmark referendum on Saturday that asked whether to alter the constitution to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people with an Indigenous advisory body, the "Voice to Parliament", that would have advised the national assembly on matters concerning the community.

Australia's first referendum in almost a quarter of a century needed a national majority and majorities in at least four states to pass. All six states rejected the proposal.

"This is a bitter irony," the Indigenous leaders said in a statement. "That people who have only been on this continent for 235 years would refuse to recognise those whose home this land has been for 60,000 and more years is beyond reason."

They said they would lower the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island flag to half-mast for the week and urged others to do the same.

The outcome is a major setback for reconciliation efforts with the country's Indigenous community and damages Australia's image in the world regarding how it treats First Nations people.

Unlike other nations with similar histories, such as Canada and New Zealand, Australia has not formally recognised or reached a treaty with its First Peoples.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people make up 3.8 per cent of Australia's 26 million population and have inhabited the country for about 60,000 years. But they are not mentioned in the constitution and are the country's most disadvantaged people by most socioeconomic measures.

"It's very clear that reconciliation is dead," Marcia Langton, an architect of the Voice, said. "I think it will be at least two generations before Australians are capable of putting their colonial hatreds behind them and acknowledging that we exist."

A banner promoting the recognition movement for Indigenous people in the Australian capital of Canberra on Sunday. AFP
A banner promoting the recognition movement for Indigenous people in the Australian capital of Canberra on Sunday. AFP

Reconciliation Australia, an indigenous body, said the community was left to grapple with the "ugly acts of racism and disinformation" it said were a feature of the debate.

Australian Indigenous leader and former national rugby union player Lloyd Walker said the path to reconciliation now seemed difficult but the community needed to keep fighting.

"We can say it got outvoted but there was still 40 per cent of the people that wanted it. Years and years ago we wouldn't have that percentage for sure," Mr Walker said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had staked significant political capital on the Voice referendum, but his critics say it was his biggest misstep since coming to power in May last year.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton said it was a referendum "that Australia did not need to have" and that it only ended up dividing the nation.

One of the biggest reasons for the loss was a lack of bipartisan support, with leaders of the major conservative parties campaigning for the "No" vote.

No referendum has passed in Australia without bipartisan backing.

"Much will be asked of the role of racism and prejudice against Indigenous people in this result," leaders said in the statement. "The only thing we ask is that each and every Australian who voted in this election reflect hard on this question."

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
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Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press

Jewel of the Expo 2020

252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome

13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas

550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome

724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses

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Al Wasl means connection in Arabic

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The biog

Occupation: Key marker and auto electrician

Hometown: Ghazala, Syria

Date of arrival in Abu Dhabi: May 15, 1978

Family: 11 siblings, a wife, three sons and one daughter

Favourite place in UAE: Abu Dhabi

Favourite hobby: I like to do a mix of things, like listening to poetry for example.

Favourite Syrian artist: Sabah Fakhri, a tenor from Aleppo

Favourite food: fresh fish

MATCH INFO

Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')

Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)

Sly%20Cooper%20and%20the%20Thievius%20Raccoonus
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sucker%20Punch%20Productions%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sony%20Computer%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%202%20to%205%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%205%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Simran

Director Hansal Mehta

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey

Three stars

RESULTS - ELITE MEN

1. Henri Schoeman (RSA) 57:03
2. Mario Mola (ESP) 57:09
3. Vincent Luis (FRA) 57:25
4. Leo Bergere (FRA)57:34
5. Jacob Birtwhistle (AUS) 57:40    
6. Joao Silva (POR) 57:45   
7. Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) 57:56
8. Adrien Briffod (SUI) 57:57           
9. Gustav Iden (NOR) 57:58            
10. Richard Murray (RSA) 57:59       

Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

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HOW%20TO%20ACTIVATE%20THE%20GEMINI%20SHORTCUT%20ON%20CHROME%20CANARY
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Combating coronavirus

Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate 

 

 

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Alaan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Parthi%20Duraisamy%20and%20Karun%20Kurien%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%247%20million%20raised%20in%20total%20%E2%80%94%20%242.5%20million%20in%20a%20seed%20round%20and%20%244.5%20million%20in%20a%20pre-series%20A%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ABU%20DHABI'S%20KEY%20TOURISM%20GOALS%3A%20BY%20THE%20NUMBERS
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Key findings
  • Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
  • Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase. 
  • People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”. 
  • Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better. 
  • But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989

Director: Goran Hugo Olsson

Rating: 5/5

Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

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3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

If you go

Flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.

The stay

Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.

Updated: October 15, 2023, 12:02 PM`