World Today: Suspicious Object Found Triggers Evacuation at Melbourne's Avalon Airport
Melbourne’s Avalon Airport reopened after the evacuation of the domestic terminal was completed this morning (21/05). During security checks, a suspicious object was found, and a person was arrested at the scene. Bomb disposal officers were called and a robot was dispatched to examine the object. The airport authority issued an update at 10:30am stating that the emergency had ended. “The domestic terminal at Melbourne’s Avalon Airport is now reopened and operations have resumed,” a spokesperson said. “Victoria Police have stated that the object is no longer considered to be a risk.”
Israel’s far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted a video of himself mocking activists detained from the Global Sumud Flotilla as several members of the group were pushed and dragged by Israeli forces. The video, posted with the caption “welcome to Israel”, also showed activists forced to kneel on the ground with their hands bound behind their backs, while the Israeli national anthem was played over loudspeakers.
Hundreds of activists trying to breach the maritime blockade of Gaza have been blocked by Israeli forces off the coast of Cyprus in the Mediterranean since the start of the week. The EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas criticised Ben-Gvir’s actions, saying the treatment of the Global Sumud flotilla activists, including EU citizens, was “degrading and wrong”.
Iran says it is studying the latest United States proposal, received from Pakistan as a mediator, to end the war in the country, even as both sides threaten to resume attacks. This comes after President Donald Trump told reporters that his side is in the “final stage” of negotiations with Iran. “We will reach an agreement, or we will do a few unpleasant things. But hopefully it won’t come to that,” Trump said.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran is “taking account of the American position and is currently studying it”. He repeated Iran’s demands, including the release of Iranian assets frozen abroad and the lifting of the US blockade on Iranian ports.
WHO: the world is now more at risk of a pandemic. Findings from the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) come as the WHO intensifies efforts to curb deadly Ebola and hantavirus outbreaks, while Australia faces one of its worst diphtheria outbreaks. The GPMB was established by the WHO in 2018 after the first large-scale Ebola outbreak in West Africa, to assess how well countries are prepared to face future pandemics. Its latest report warns that, as infectious disease outbreaks become more frequent, outbreaks themselves are becoming more damaging and that global preparedness is moving in the wrong direction. Professor Sharon Lewin of the Doherty Institute at the University of Melbourne, who was not involved in the report, said the findings are an important reminder that global cooperation and fair access to health measures are crucial for pandemic preparedness. Watch Live DetikSore: