Australia PM Calls Fires ‘Mass Murder’
Wildfires sweeping across southern Australia have killed more than 170 people, a number that is expected to rise. With news that arson could be to blame for some of the fires, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said, "There are no words to describe it other than mass murder."
Wildfires sweeping across southern Australia have killed more than 170 people, a number that is expected to rise. With news that arson could be to blame for some of the fires, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said, “There are no words to describe it other than mass murder.”
To put things in perspective, the previously worst wildfire in Australia’s history killed 75 people, with all the fatal injuries occurring on one day, Feb. 16, 1983.
Your support is crucial…BBC:
Officials believe some of the fires might have been started deliberately, an accusation Mr Rudd described as “a level of horror that few of us anticipated”.
“There are no words to describe it other than mass murder,” he said.
Many residents of fire-ravaged towns are now embroiled in a desperate search for friends and relatives missing since the flames tore through the tiny communities.
With an uncertain future and a new administration casting doubt on press freedoms, the danger is clear: The truth is at risk.
Now is the time to give. Your tax-deductible support allows us to dig deeper, delivering fearless investigative reporting and analysis that exposes what’s really happening — without compromise.
Stand with our courageous journalists. Donate today to protect a free press, uphold democracy and unearth untold stories.
Ear to the Ground
Nearly 90% of the Australian population supports the journalist’s safe return to his native country, says Greens Sen. David Shoebridge.
Under a groundbreaking agreement, men's and women's teams pool revenue and enjoy equal working conditions.
New fronts in the battle to contain the virus open rapidly, deepening a sense of crisis that has already sent financial markets plummeting.
Unless we remove the arsonists in power across the globe, we're headed for a climate catastrophe no less destructive than nuclear war.
We finally see a spark of global acknowledgement about the urgency of the crisis, thanks to Greta Thunberg and Australia's fires.
Scientists say they see no end to the way human-caused climate change is adversely affecting the planet.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.