Australia to send 8000 COVID-19 vaccines to Papua New Guinea

Australia will send 8,000 COVID-19 vaccines to Papua New Guinea next week.

PNG is in the midst of a second COVID-19 wave, with more than 14 hundred active cases, although the real figure is expected to be significantly higher.

"It is also true that the escalation of issues with the virus in PNG presents very real risks to Australia as well," said Prime Minister Scott Morrisson. 

Genesis Owusu: Smiling With No Teeth

<p><span><span>- Ghana-born, Australian based rapper Genesis Owusu is Canberra’s most exciting new export, (though there may not be stiff competition), and his new project, <em>Smiling with No Teeth</em>, is a versatile rap record. It’s 2021’s equivalent to the magnum opus <em>The Return </em>by <strong>Sampa the Great</strong>, and the phenomenal <em>Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 2 </em>by <strong>Tkay Maidza</strong>.</span></span></p>

David Rovics: Rebel Songs

<p><span><span><em>- “You’re not a folk singer, you’re a journalist.</em>” So went Bob Dylan’s famous put-down to his one-time friend and comrade Phil Ochs. It was not meant as a compliment, but to be fair, Ochs had titled his first album <em>All The News That’s Fit To Sing</em>.</span></span></p>

First Native American in US cabinet

Congresswoman Deb Haaland has won Senate confirmation to lead President Biden’s Interior Department, making her the first Native American cabinet official in history.

As Interior secretary, Haaland will be tasked with overseeing nearly 500 million acres of federal lands, including regulating drilling and other fossil fuel activities on them.