Israel reopens Al-Aqsa mosque ahead of Muslim prayers | ||
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Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel reopened Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound Friday ahead of the weekly Muslim prayers, after a rare closure following clashes sparked by the killing of a Palestinian by police. The streets of east Jerusalem were calm ahead of the prayers at midday, following an Israeli clampdown on the shrine, which is holy for Muslims and Jews alike. Clashes erupted when Israeli police on Wednesday night shot dead a Palestinian accused of trying to kill a Jewish hardliner. The closure was the first for decades and prompted a spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to condemn the move as an Israeli "declaration of war". Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said that because of fears of unrest at the midday prayers, entry for Muslim men would be restricted to those over 50. Additional police were deployed around the Al-Aqsa compound in the heart of the Old City, with local media reporting the presence of some 3,000 officers, three times more than usual. The Al-Aqsa mosque compound -- known to Jews as the Temple Mount -- is the third holiest site in Islam and Judaism's holiest. The clashes subsided late Thursday with a few sporadic confrontations between stone-throwing Palestinians and police firing rubber bullets and tear gas. Three Palestinians were arrested, Samri said. The funeral of the Palestinian passed off without incident, she added. Jerusalem has been shaken by months of unrest sparked by the murder of a Palestinian teenager in July in revenge for the killings of three Jewish teenagers in the West Bank. A 50-day war between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza in July and August intensified protests and clashes in the Holy City.
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Australia Wants To Approve A Really Horrible Policy For Cutting Emissions | ||
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Sydney (AFP) - Australia is set to approve measures giving polluters financial incentives to reduce emissions blamed for climate change, in a move critics described as ineffective environmental policy. The so-called "direct action" plan, which will see the government pay companies to increase energy efficiency, passed through the upper house Senate early Friday following a marathon debate. The bill is expected to be approved next month by the lower House of Representatives where the conservative government of Prime Minister Tony Abbott has a majority. It comes after Abbott axed a tax on greenhouse gas emissions introduced by the previous Labor administration, fulfilling a central pledge from last year's elections. "We have delivered on our promise to implement an emissions reduction fund to ensure that there is real and practical action to achieve our emissions goals and targets without a carbon tax," Environment Minister Greg Hunt told reporters. China and the United States are the biggest greenhouse gas polluters, according to a report by international scientists issued last month, but Australia's output is considered high per capita. The Aus$2.55 billion (US$2.25 billion) Emissions Reduction Fund is part of the government's plan to meet its emissions reduction target of five percent below 2000 levels by 2020. Under the plan, competitive auctions will be held, with the government entering into contracts to buy emissions reductions from successful bidders at the lowest cost, Hunt said. He added that the emissions reductions would be "real and significant" as payments would only be made when the pollution cuts occur. - 'Not the right way to go' -But the Labor opposition leader Bill Shorten criticised the scheme, describing it as "paying big polluters to keep polluting, which is terrible policy". "In terms of 'Direct Action', Labor just doesn't believe it is the right way to go. We believe in trusting the marketplace to set the price signal," Shorten said Friday. The policy has also been slammed by the Greens party, with leader Christine Milne saying there was "no modelling or any evidence to suggest it will do anything at all to reduce pollution". The plan passed with the backing of the Palmer United Party. As part of the government's deal with mining magnate Clive Palmer's party, Hunt agreed to keep the Climate Change Authority (CCA) and set up a three-stage, 18-month inquiry into an emissions trading scheme (ETS). The government had been planning to abolish the CCA, an independent climate change agency set up by the previous government. The University of Queensland's John Quiggin, a CCA member and economics professor, welcomed the inquiry into an ETS. "The overwhelming view of economists is that a price-based measure such as an ETS is a critical component of a carbon mitigation policy," Quiggin said. Although the government rejected setting aside some of the fund to purchase international carbon credits, environmental economist Caroline Sullivan said similar offset schemes within Australia should be considered. Carbon offset schemes allow individuals or firms a way to reduce their carbon footprint by investing in projects that absorb greenhouse gases. "This relatively large sum of money (from the fund) can not only help to motivate carbon reductions from large emitters, but could also provide a hugely important -- and much needed -- economic stimulus for rural and regional Australia," Sullivan, from Southern Cross University, said. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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