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In Australia’s outback, youth crime stymies efforts to get tourism on track

Alice Springs, Australia – For Ben Hall, the CEO of tour bus operator AAT Kings, business lately has been tough. He says visitors are not booking tours to Uluru, a huge sandstone monolith that is the most famous attraction in Australia’s vast Northern Territory, in the numbers they used to. “We’ve certainly seen the trips from Alice Springs to Uluru have been a little bit softer,” Hall, who operates a fleet of about 30 buses focusing on tours to Uluru, told Al Jazeera. “We’ve added a couple of new short break itineraries for this year into the region…but certainly it’s been tough trading.” Tour and car rental companies across Australia’s Red Centre, as the country’s vast outback region is often called, have reported a similar drop-off in business. While tourism operators attribute the decline to a number of factors, most agree that part of the cause is escalating youth crime in Alice Springs, a remote town of some 40,000 people that serves as a base for visitors to outback attractions such as Uluru. In the past two years, youth crime in the town has captured national media attention and stoked political turmoil at the both federal and state government levels, even though crimes by minors have also risen nationwide. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who leads the centre-left Labor Party, has made several visits to the town to highlight his government’s efforts to tackle the issue. In March, and again in July, the Northern Territory government implemented curfews banning minors from the town centre at night following a series of violent attacks. Uluru is a major attraction in the Northern Territory [Wing Kuang/Al Jazeera] The rise in crime has drawn particular attention to Alice Springs in the media as it came after the Northern Territory government ended a 15-year alcohol ban in remote Aboriginal communities in late 2022. In 2007, Australia’s federal government implemented a series of interventions in the Northern Territory, where about one-third of the population is Indigenous, in response to a territory government report that found evidence of widespread child sexual abuse in remote Aboriginal communities. The federal interventions, which some rights groups criticised as racist and discriminatory, included a blanket ban on alcohol in remote Aboriginal communities that was extended by successive territory governments. After the alcohol ban was lifted, a series of high-profile violent incidents in Alice Springs, including teenagers stealing vehicles and attacking police cars, made headlines across the country. In the year ending November 2023, violent offences by youths rose to 1,182, a 50 percent rise compared to 2019-20, according to the Northern Territory’s Department of the Attorney-General and Justice. After accounting for population change, the overall youth offender rate decreased from 2,855 to 2,819 offenders per 100,000 persons in 2022–23, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, although part of that decrease can be explained by the government’s decision in August 2023 to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12. Local police warned residents to avoid visiting the town centre, and the Northern Territory government reintroduced a ban on alcohol sales in January 2023. While the uptick in crime has prompted politicians to action, some community leaders and legal experts have criticised the territory government for implementing “draconian” policies, such as curfews, that could further stigmatise Indigenous communities. Human rights groups have also accused police of targeting Indigenous people in the territory, which has one of the highest rates of incarceration in the world. Last month, the newly elected Northern Territory government lowered the age of criminal responsibility from 12 to 10, prompting concern among community leaders that Indigenous teenagers will be locked up at even higher rates. North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, a not-for-profit legal service, noted that between 2018 and 2023, the number of prisoners in the territory rose 22 percent, which it claimed was a result of young Aboriginal people being targeted by law enforcement. Jared Sharp, a legal officer for the non-profit, said in a press release that while the public perceives a rise in youth crime in the Northern Territory, “youth justice court lodgements territory-wide have fallen for three years running”. The focus on youth crime and subsequent crackdown have been keenly felt by tourism operators, who typically see an uptick in tourism during the dry season between April and October. In April, tourism industry figures called for “urgent” financial support from the government after the announcement of the first curfew prompted a wave of customer cancellations. In September, Ross River Resort, a popular stop for travellers en route to Alice Springs, announced that it would close its doors to the general public from the following month. Martin Ansell, co-director of resort operator Grollo Group, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that tourism had dropped “50 to 60 per cent” from the previous year. Kirsten Holmgren, who runs tours of the East MacDonnell Ranges, said she has had a “very, very quiet” season. “This year I haven’t had more than six people on a 16-seater bus, so I do have to fill in between working for other companies,” Holmgren told Al Jazeera. Kirsten Holmgren says her customers have sharply declined [Wing Kuang/Al Jazeera] While Holmgren acknowledges the issue of youth crime in Alice Springs, she believes the media have given the issue outsized attention, discouraging visitors. “So break-ins and car thefts have definitely been on the rise. This in no way affects tourism at all. It only affects the locals,” Holmgren said. Danial Rochford, CEO of Tourism Central Australia, said crime is not the only reason tourism has been suffering, pointing to cost-of-living pressures as well as reduced flights to Alice Springs. Tourism in the region “has come under enormous challenge”, Rochford told Al Jazeera. While tour companies have reported a drop-off in visitors passing through or basing themselves in Alice Springs and its surrounds, operators are more sanguine about the number of visitors to Uluru itself. A spokesperson for Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia, an Indigenous-owned business that runs the local Ayers Rock Resort, said

New Zealand’s Luxon apologises to victims of abuse in state and church care

New Zealand Prime Minister says government must take responsibility for ‘horrific’ abuse of some 200,000 people in care. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has issued a landmark apology to survivors of abuse in state and church care. “It was horrific. It was heartbreaking. It was wrong. And it should never have happened,” Luxon said on Tuesday in remarks to parliament. “For many of you, it changed the course of your life, and for that, the government must take responsibility.” The rare apology comes after an independent inquiry in July reported its finding that New Zealand’s state and faith-based institutions had presided over the abuse of some 200,000 children, young people and vulnerable adults over the span of seven decades. New Zealand’s Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that nearly one in three people in state or religious care between 1950 and 2019 experienced abuse in what amounted to a “national disgrace”. Sexual abuse was “commonplace”, while physical abuse was “prevalent across all settings”, the inquiry found, with some staff going to “extremes to inflict as much pain as possible using weapons and electric shocks”. The inquiry also found that Maori and Pacific Islander people were targeted because of their ethnicity, such as by being prevented from engaging with their cultural heritage and practices. The inquiry made 138 recommendations, including calling for public apologies from New Zealand’s government and the heads of the Catholic and Anglican churches. Other recommendations included legislative changes to make it easier to hold abusers accountable and the establishment of a Ministry for the Care System that would be independent from other government agencies involved in the care system. “You deserved so much better. And I am deeply sorry that New Zealand did not do better by you,” Luxon said. “I am sorry you were not believed when you came forward to report your abuse. I am sorry that many bystanders – staff, volunteers and carers – turned a blind eye and failed to stop or report abuse.” Adblock test (Why?)

US military says strikes in Syria targeted ‘Iranian backed groups’

US Central Command said nine targets were hit at two locations in Syria in response to an attack on US forces over the previous 24 hours. The US military has carried out strikes against targets in Syria in what the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said was a response to recent attacks on US forces by “Iranian-aligned targets” in the country. CENTCOM’s commander General Michael Erik Kurilla said in a statement early on Tuesday that the US military action sent a “clear” message to armed groups backed by Iran and operating in Syria. “Attacks against US and coalition partners in the region will not be tolerated,” Kurilla said, describing attacks on US military personnel in Syria over the past 24 hours as “reckless”. “These strikes will degrade the Iranian-backed groups’ ability to plan and launch future attacks,” CENTCOM said, adding that nine targets in two locations were hit in the US attacks. The US has about 900 soldiers based in the eastern part of Syria and 2,500 more in neighbouring Iraq, whose stated mission is to advise and assist local forces battling to prevent a resurgence of the group known as ISIL (ISIS), which in 2014 seized large swaths of both Syria and Iraq but was later defeated in fierce fighting. No US personnel were reported injured in the attacks that CENTCOM said had been carried out over the previous 24 hours by Iranian-backed groups. The US military also did not specify which armed groups were targeted in Syria or whether the strikes were thought to have resulted in casualties. pic.twitter.com/Hnw4dW6LEe — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) November 11, 2024 United Kingdom-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that four Syrian members of Iranian-backed armed groups were killed on Monday and 10 others were severely injured when fighter jets of the “international coalition” attacked a “headquarters” in the Al Mayadeen area of eastern Syria’s Deir Az Zor countryside. Syria state media reported earlier on Monday that Israel’s Air Force had attacked an aid convoy in the Shamsin area, located approximately 20km (12 miles) from the border with Lebanon, forcing the closure of Syria’s main north-south highway that links the capital, Damascus, with the northern city of Aleppo. There were no immediate reports of casualties and state television did not provide details about the convoy that was attacked, though the area is known as a gathering point for refugees fleeing from Israeli attacks on Lebanon. On Sunday, an Israeli air strike also hit a residential building in the Damascus suburb of Sayyida Zeinab, killing seven civilians, including women and children, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported. Twenty others were wounded in the attack, SANA said. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria in recent years but rarely acknowledges the attacks on its neighbour, which it claims target Iranian-supported armed groups that threaten Israel’s security. Adblock test (Why?)

Trump’s granddaughter Kai shares vlog of family celebration on election night: ‘Extremely proud’

President-elect Trump’s 17-year-old granddaughter shared a vlog of her experience on election night on Monday, capturing her thoughts and emotions as her grandfather clinched the presidency. Kai Trump, the daughter of Donald Trump, Jr., posted the video on YouTube Monday afternoon. The vlog – which is short for a video blog – begins with the teenage girl getting her makeup professionally done and expressing her thoughts about the election. “I am here in my house getting ready for the election night at Mar-a-Lago and the convention center,” Kai Trump says as she sits in a makeup chair. “I think today we’re going with straight hair. Jessica’s going to do my amazing makeup…I am still trying to pick a dress out.” The teenager casually shares her plans in the video, including having dinner with her grandfather hours before he was elected president. FORMER GEORGIA SENATOR KELLY LOEFFLER TO SERVE ON TRUMP’S INAUGURAL COMMITTEE “I’m going to see my grandpa, have family dinner with him, just, like, spend time with them,” Kai Trump says. “And then I think I’m going to head over to the convention center after… just see my friends and like, close family that have supported me and my grandpa over time.” Kai Trump also discusses a recent golf competition she had and details about her life. The teenager is also seen singing along to songs with her friends in the car. “I haven’t seen my grandpa in a while because he’s been campaigning,” she says in the video. “I’m super excited to see him again. He’s called me almost every other day.” The vlog also depicts the 17-year-old’s emotions shifting from anxious to optimistic as the electoral votes were announced in her grandfather’s favor. NEW YORK DEMOCRAT RIPS ‘FAR LEFT’ FOR TRUMP VICTORY: ‘IVORY-TOWERED NONSENSE’ “I’m a little nervous,” Kai Trump says at the beginning of the night. “Actually, that’s an understatement. I’m very nervous. The past five days I have been so nervous…I feel like I’ve had butterflies in my stomach for so long, and I really hope we find out [the results] soon.” At the end of the video, the teenager described Nov. 5 as a “special night” and gushed about her grandpa.  “I’m extremely proud of him,” Kai Trump says. “I think he deserves it more than anyone in the whole world. And he really has worked his butt off every single day for the past really eight years or more.” “He’s such an incredible person and such a unique person,” the granddaughter continues. “And he just fights every single day for America over and over and over again. And he’ll never give up.” The teenager has been candidly sharing facets of her life on social media in recent days. On Sunday, Kai Trump posted a collection of photos and videos on Instagram of her golfing with her grandfather.

Harris fundraiser page says portion of donations will be directed to ‘recount account’

A portion of donations to a fundraising committee associated with the Harris-Walz campaign will be directed toward a recount effort. Those who want to donate on ActBlue, a nonprofit fundraising platform, will see a fine print that warns them that the campaign could launch a recount effort. The push to beef up the “recount account” comes as the Harris campaign is reportedly $20 million in debt. The donations are made to the Harris Victory Fund, which is part of a joint fundraising committee authorized by the Harris campaign, the Democratic National Committee and state Democratic parties. “The first $41,300/$15,000 from a person/multicandidate committee (“PAC”) will be allocated to the DNC. The next $3,300/$5,000 from a person/PAC will be allocated to Harris for President’s Recount Account,” the fundraising page states.  DEMOCRATS LOOKING TO POINT FINGERS AFTER ‘HUMILIATING’ ELECTION DEFEAT SHOULD START WITH MEDIA: WSJ COLUMNIST There was no indication that Harris was seeking a recount for herself after having lost to President-elect Trump in a decisive victory in which he swept all the battleground states as well as the popular vote.  The Harris-Walz campaign reportedly spent $1 billion during its failed run.  “With a handful of key Senate and House races still too close to call, we are keeping our organizers and volunteers on the ground in those states to see the election across the finish line,” the Harris campaign’s website says. “If you are able, please donate to the Harris Fight Fund today to ensure we have the resources to elect Democrats down the ticket ready to hold the Trump administration accountable,” it said.  TRUMP VICTORY PROVES IMPORTANCE OF CANDID, LONGFORM PODCASTS AS PLATFORM SHOWED ‘HUMAN SIDE’ OF ONE CANDIDATE Over the weekend, Trump called for people to chip in and donate to help Harris pay off her campaign debts.  “I am very surprised that the Democrats, who fought a hard and valiant fight in the 2020 (sic) Presidential Election, raising a record amount of money, didn’t have lots of $’s left over,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “Now they are being squeezed by vendors and others. Whatever we can do to help them during this difficult period, I would strongly recommend we, as a Party and for the sake of desperately needed UNITY, do,” he added. “We have a lot of money left over in that our biggest asset in the campaign was ‘Earned Media,’ and that doesn’t cost very much. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Fox News Digital has reached out to the Harris campaign and ActBlue.

Delhi air pollution: No relief for Delhi-NCR as air quality remains in ‘very poor’ category; AQI breaches 400-mark in…

Some of the areas worst affected by air pollution included Wazirpur (AQI at 421), Jahangirpuri (419) and Anand Vihar (403), where the air quality dropped to ‘severe’ levels.

GOP Rep. Mike Waltz tapped to be Trump’s national security adviser

Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., has been offered the role of national security adviser in the next Trump administration, a source confirmed to Fox News Digital. Waltz has been one of President-elect Trump’s most visible surrogates during the 2024 campaign, spearheading military outreach and helping with the Veterans For Trump coalition. The Florida congressman is the first retired Green Beret to serve in Congress and had previous administration experience as a policy adviser to former Defense Secretaries Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates. The Wall Street Journal first reported Waltz being offered the role. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment. JOHNSON BLASTS DEM ACCUSATIONS HE VOWED TO END OBAMACARE AS ‘DISHONEST’ Elevating a House lawmaker to the administration could complicate Republicans’ ability to govern the chamber, however. Waltz is in a safe red seat on the eastern Florida coast, so it’s highly unlikely to fall into Democratic hands. But replacing a House member is a process that could take several weeks. Republicans are on track to win the House majority by just a slim margin, so whittling down their numbers in Congress could fuel delays to Trump’s own first 100-day agenda. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., speculated on Fox & Friends last week that Republicans would win by about four to six seats. Waltz is the second House lawmaker tapped for an administration role after House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., accepted Trump’s nomination to be ambassador to the United Nations earlier on Monday. DEMS PRIVATELY FRET ABOUT LOSING HOUSE AFTER GOP VICTORY IN WHITE HOUSE, SENATE Both Stefanik and Waltz are members of the House Armed Services Committee and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.  “I am truly honored to earn President Trump’s nomination to serve in his Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. During my conversation with President Trump, I shared how deeply humbled I am to accept his nomination and that I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the United States Senate,” Stefanik said in her statement accepting the nomination. “The work ahead is immense as we see antisemitism skyrocketing coupled with four years of catastrophically weak U.S. leadership that significantly weakened our national security and diminished our standing in the eyes of both allies and adversaries. I stand ready to advance President Donald J. Trump’s restoration of America First peace through strength leadership on the world stage on Day One at the United Nations.” Like Waltz, Stefanik’s upstate New York district is a safe Republican stronghold. HOUSE LEADERS MOVE QUICKLY TO CONSOLIDATE POWER IN SHOW OF CONFIDENCE FOR REPUBLICAN MAJORITY The NSA role does not require Senate confirmation, but the role of UN ambassador does. Sources previously told Fox News Digital that Waltz was in contention for the role of Secretary of Defense.  Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump transition team for comment on Waltz being offered the NSA role.

GOP Rep. Mike Waltz tapped to be Trump’s national security advisor

Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., has been offered the role of National Security Advisor in the next Trump administration, a source confirmed to Fox News Digital. Waltz has been one of Trump’s most visible surrogates during the 2024 campaign, helping spearhead military outreach and leading the Veterans For Trump coalition. The Florida congressman is the first retired Green Beret to serve in Congress and had previous administration experience as a policy adviser to former Defense Secretaries Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates. The Wall Street Journal first reported Waltz being offered the role. This story is breaking and will be updated…

Redistricting helps Republicans, Democrats flip House seats

Republicans were optimistic about their chances to win big in North Carolina. “We will flip from the Democrats to the Republicans … this congressional seat. That’s a huge plus for the Republican Party,” congressional candidate Brad Knott, R-N.C., said at a rally with vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance of Ohio just days before the election. Knott was correct in his prediction, but Republicans did not flip only his seat from blue to red, they flipped a total of three. THE 2024 ELECTION CYCLE IS DRAWING TO A CLOSE –⁠ HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW “Thanks to your support, I’m going to be the next congressman from the 6th District of North Carolina,” candidate Addison McDowell, R-N.C., said at a Nov. 2 Trump campaign event in Greensboro. The Republican success had a lot to do with redrawn congressional maps that were backed by a state lawmaker turned congressman-elect. “I’m Tim Moore, currently the speaker of the House, and in just a few days [I] will be the member for the United States Congress for right here in Gaston County,” said North Carolina speaker of the House and congressional candidate Tim Moore, R-N.C., at a Nov. 2 Trump campaign rally in Gastonia, N.C. The changes began when North Carolina was given an additional seat on its congressional map due to population growth after the 2020 census. Rep.-elect Moore will now represent that seat “We’ve got a Republican supermajority in the state House, in the state Senate. We know how to get things done in this state,” Moore said in July. THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE MEANING OF A REPUBLICAN SENATE – AND WHAT’S AHEAD FOR THE HOUSE North Carolina’s congressional map was redrawn at least three times before the 2022 midterm elections. Three Democrats won districts 6, 13 and 14. North Carolina’s congressional delegation was split: seven Republicans and seven Democrats. But state Republicans were not satisfied and redrew the map once again before 2024. Moore said at the time that “7-7 does not reflect the will of the voters in North Carolina.” “At the end of the day, it shouldn’t be up to judges or bureaucrats. It should be up to the people through their elected representatives in the legislature,” Moore said after Supreme Court arguments on the maps in 2022. After the map that was expected to benefit Republicans was finalized, the three Democrat incumbents decided against running for re-election. District 6’s Kathy Manning, D-N.C., announced she wouldn’t seek re-election in December 2023. District 13’s Wiley Nickel, D-N.C., decided against running at around the same time and is instead considering a Senate run in 2026 against incumbent Republican Thom Tillis. District 14 Rep. Jeff Jackson, D-N.C., also criticized the maps and instead ran a successful bid for North Carolina attorney general. “We need to make sure that folks know how important every single race on the ballot is,” Jackson said while campaigning with Vice President Harris days before the election. Moore instead won Jackson’s seat. He was first elected to the State House in 2002 and has served as speaker of the House since 2015. He has also been a longtime ally of President-elect Trump and campaigned with him during his 2016 presidential bid. “I have no doubt he’s going to be our next president of the United States,” Moore said at a 2016 Trump rally in High Point, North Carolina. The 30-year-old McDowell won North Carolina’s 6th District. He served as a congressional aide for Sen. Ted Budd during his time in the House. McDowell decided to run for the seat after his brother died from a fentanyl overdose. “I don’t want any of your families to suffer like my family did. We have to stop the flow of fentanyl coming into our country through Mexico. And that’s why we have to secure our southern border,” McDowell said during a Trump campaign rally in October. TOP REPUBLICAN PRIVATELY BACKING THUNE TO SUCCEED MCCONNELL IN GOP LEADER RACE Former federal prosecutor Knott flipped North Carolina’s 13th District. He promised to address crime and illegal immigration during his campaign. “I had the high honor of working under President Trump when we actually prosecuted criminals,” Knott said at a Nov. 3 rally in Selma, North Carolina. Redistricting also appeared to benefit Democrats this election cycle. In New York, they flipped two competitive seats, even one that was thought to benefit the Republican incumbent. “What we are seeing with our democracy is terrifying,” congressional candidate Josh Riley, D-N.Y., said during his 2022 campaign. He first ran for the District 19 congressional seat during the midterm elections. He lost to republican Marcus Molinaro by less than 5,000 votes. That year, Molinaro flipped the seat from blue to red. Two years later, the new congressional maps in New York were thought to help Molinaro’s chances for re-election, but Riley managed to flip the seat back in the Democrats’ favor. “Tomorrow let’s get to work, tonight let’s celebrate what we accomplished together,” Riley said during his election night remarks. Just north in New York’s 22nd District, changes to the congressional map were expected to affect Republican Rep. Brandon Williams’ chances of holding onto his House seat. “This is always the risk in a presidential year,” Williams said after losing in the 2024 race. “What an incredible, distinct honor it has been to serve in the United States Congress.” The district was shifted to include left-leaning cities like Auburn and Cortland. State Sen. John Mannion, D-N.Y., managed to flip the seat. He ran a moderate campaign and promised to protect reproductive rights while vowing to work across the aisle on immigration legislation. “We need individuals from both parties to stand up against their own leadership,” Mannion said on election night.

Gavin Newsom to meet with Biden after vowing to protect state’s progressive policies against Trump admin

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is headed to Washington this week to meet with President Biden after calling for a special session of state lawmakers to “Trump-Proof” the state’s progressive policies.  A spokesperson for Newsom’s office said the Democratic governor is traveling to Washington, D.C. for a series of meetings with the Biden-Harris administration and the California congressional delegation.  “Building on the progress made since President Biden took office, the Governor will advocate for key priorities that advance the health and well-being of all Californians — including disaster funding, the approval of state healthcare initiatives aimed at improving access to health and mental healthcare for Californians, and crucial climate and clean air efforts,” Newsom’s spokesperson said, without giving a specific timeframe for the meetings. Newsom, who has been at odds with the former president, wrote after Trump’s election night victory that California was “ready to fight.” HERE ARE THE DEMOCRATS WHO MAY EVENTUALLY RUN FOR PRESIDENT IN 2028 “Whether it be our fundamental civil rights, reproductive freedom, or climate action — we refuse to turn back the clock and allow our values and laws to be attacked,” Newsom said.  Those comments came a day after Newsom said he “will seek to work with the incoming president.” During Trump’s first term, the Newsom administration filed more than 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration. The governor is now asking state lawmakers to earmark more funds for the California Department of Justice and other state agencies with additional resources to mount legal challenges. MORE THAN 40% OF CALIFORNIANS VOTED FOR TRUMP, STATE ‘NOT AS LIBERAL AS NEWSOM’ THINKS, SAYS EXPERT Newsom’s office said the special session of state lawmakers, slated for Monday, Dec. 2, will focus on safeguarding “civil rights, reproductive freedom, climate action, and immigrant families.”  Trump has balked at Newsom’s call for a special session, writing on his Truth Social platform Friday that Newsom was supposedly “trying to KILL our Nation’s beautiful California.”  “He is using the term ‘Trump-Proof’ as a way of stopping all of the GREAT things that can be done to ‘Make California Great Again,’ but I just overwhelmingly won the Election,” Trump said.  Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.