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Nov 2022 - Vol 1, Issue 3
Spectacular Diwali celebrations at King George Square organised by FICQ
D
iwali celebrations organised by the Federation of Indian Communities of Queensland (FICQ) at the iconic King George Square on Oct 27 was a much-awaited calendar event, especially for the growing Indian diaspora in Brisbane. For the past couple of years, due
to COVID-related restrictions, it has been challenging to celebrate the Diwali festival on a larger scale. But with life bouncing back to normal earlier this year, the Indian community thronged in large numbers to celebrate the festival of lights. ‘Unity in diversity’ is an integral
part of the Indian community’s ethos. FICQ, true to its mission, has paved the way year after year since 2010 to bring the Indian diaspora and the extended community together. All three levels of government officials attended the FICQ
26 passengers rescued after plane crashes into Tanzania’s Lake Victoria
Dar Es Salaam, Nov 6 (IANS) Twenty-six passengers have been rescued from a plane that crashed into Lake Victoria in Tanzania’s northwestern Kagera
region on Sunday morning. The Kagera regional commissioner, Albert Chalamila, said the plane flying from the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam to Bukoba Airport in Kagera region was ferrying 43 people, Xinhua news agency reported. Chalamila said out of the 43 people on board the plane, 39 were passengers, two pilots and two cabin crew, adding that rescuers were still working to pull out 13 passengers still stuck in the fateful plane belonging to Precision Air, a private aviation company. He said the rescued passengers had been rushed to hospitals,
adding that authorities were still contacting pilots trapped inside the plane. Chalamila said the plane crashed into Lake Victoria, the world’s second-largest freshwater lake shared by Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, at about 8:20 a.m. local time (0520 GMT) as it approached the Bukoba airport. “As we continue with rescue work, Kagera region authorities have informed the country’s top leaders, including the prime minister, about the plane accident,” he said. President Samia Suluhu Hassan said she was shocked by the news of the accident.
Diwali celebrations. Hon. Peter Dutton, MP, Leader of the Opposition, addressed the audience. Hon. Grace Grace MP, Minister for Education, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Racing, energised and motivated the crowd with
her speech. Mrs Archana Singh gave a motivational speech making the attendees feel at home and proud of their rich cultural heritage. Councillor Angela Owen represented the Hon Lord Mayor of Brisbane. Over 15,000 people of Indian
continued on pg. 14
Red Cross warns of disastrous consequences of climate change ahead of COP27 Geneva, Nov 5 (IANS) Climate change is dramatically affecting vulnerable people across the globe, particularly those who live in conflict situations or do not have sufficient access to basic health care, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned on Friday. In a joint statement issued with Doctors Without Borders (MSF), ICRC said that of the 25 countries most vulnerable to climate change, the majority are also experiencing armed conflict and a lack of access to basic healthcare, Xinhua news agency reported. “When climate shocks occur in countries with limited food, water and economic resources, people’s lives, health, and
livelihoods are threatened,” the statement said. Somalia has experienced an erratic cycle of droughts and floods in recent years, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation due to three decades of armed conflict.
continued on pg. 12
Australia’s assistance brings much needed relief to people of Kiribati
P
eople on Kanton Island in the Republic of Kiribati are able to access clean drinking water now after the Australian government donated a solar water distillation system to the people of the island. The team from the Australian High Commission,
Ministry of Infrastructure and Sustainable Energy, ChildFund and Green Living landed on Kanton recently after a four-hour flight from Tarawa dedicated to Australia’s drought response. The aircraft was a Royal Australian Air Force SPARTAN C-27S. The
purpose of their visit recently was to conduct community consultation, arranged with community members the support required from the island members, testing well water condition, and the island’s responsibility to maintain the
sustainability of the system. The government officials during their conversations with the Kanton OIC and community members learnt that they access drinking water from a well located next to the village mwaneaba, which is considered
acceptable after boiling, but still showed high levels of salinity according to MISE testing – almost double the acceptable level. The well on the other side of the mwaneaba was considered too brackish to drink at all and tested at more than four times the acceptable level of salinity. This second well proved ideal for the solar distillation unit, which can turn the undrinkable water into pure drinking water for the community. The island community displayed good hospitality during the groundbreaking event to the Australian High Commissioner David Yardley and the Kiribati Government representatives continued on pg. 9
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