Australia

British mother is ‘on the verge of a nervous breakdown’

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was visiting her family when she was arrested in Iran She was jailed and h..

Published

6 years ago

November 13, 2017

Europe Disk

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was visiting her family when she was arrested in Iran
She was jailed and her husband Richard said she is on the verge of a breakdown
He revealed she has found new lumps in her breasts and is 'losing her temper'
But despite her anger over 'shambles' family believe Boris Johnson shouldn't quit
Her husband said: ‘It is not in Nazanin’s interests for there to be any resignations'

By Abe Hawken For Mailonline and Kate Ferguson For Mailonline

Published: 13:37 EST, 12 November 2017 | Updated: 02:24 EST, 13 November 2017

The husband of a British mother imprisoned in Iran last night revealed she is ‘angry’ at Boris Johnson’s handling of the case – but insisted he should not be forced to resign.

Richard Ratcliffe said his wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 38, was ‘on the verge of a nervous breakdown’ and angry at the Foreign Secretary for allowing the situation to become ‘a shambles’.

He said her mood was ‘uncontrollable’ and revealed that she had experienced pain in her breasts and been taken to hospital for an ultrasound, which found lumps.

The mother-of-one has a family history of breast cancer and a former cellmate described seeing her hair falling out in ‘huge clumps’.

Boris Johnson has faced calls to resign for suggesting last week that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was training journalists in Iran – comments which could lead to her jail sentence being increased.

Her husband said yesterday he had a 'positive' phone call with Boris Johnson and added he should not resign despite him telling MPs she was in the country training journalists – a gaffe which could see her have her sentence doubled.

He said: 'I do not believe it is in Nazanin's interests for there to be any resignations'.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was visiting her parents in Iran with her young daughter Gabriella when she was arrested by the Revolutionary Guard in Tehran Airport

Michael Gove said he was not sure what Nazanin Zaghari-Ratclife was doing in Iran before she was arrested by the Revolutionary Guard on suspicion of espionage

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 38, was seen by a specialist in Tehran on Saturday. The consultant said he thought the lumps were likely to be benign but added that some cancers were linked to stress, her husband said.

Her husband said he wanted him to keep his job because if he left it would cause instability which could damage his wife's case.

CORBYN CALLS FOR BORIS TO BE SACKED OVER IRAN BLUNDER

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, pictured today, has called for Boris Johnson to be sacked over the comments

Jeremy Corbyn is calling for Boris Johnson to be sacked from his post immediately as Foreign Secretary for 'putting citizens at risk'.

The Labour leader has launched a scathing attack on the former Mayor of London and is demanding the Prime Minister fire him with immediate effect.

This comes after Johnson made what has been described as an 'epic blunder' in the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British woman currently imprisoned in Iran.

Mr Corbyn has added to the growing pressure May faces in dealing with Johnson, as members of his own party say his position should be reconsidered.

He said: 'We've put up with Johnson embarrassing and undermining our country with his incompetence and colonial throwback views and putting our citizens at risk for long enough. It's time for him to go.'

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has also called for Mr Johnson to go over the blunder.

It comes as Michael Gove risked fuelling the problems for her by saying he does not know why she was in the country before her arrest.

Her husband said: 'New lumps had been identified in each of her breasts.

'Nazanin has been complaining of sharp stabbing pains in her breasts for some months – her breasts have been painful since month five of her detention.

'She had previously had been given an inconclusive mammography by the in-prison gynaecologist.'

He added: 'Nazanin notes that since her court appearance, she has been very angry for a number of days.

'Her mood has become uncontrollable. She loses her temper over the smallest things.

'Everything annoys her, but is unable to see why she gets so cross. Quick to feel like others are ganging up.

'She noted that she is very down, that she cannot handle all this. It is too much pressure, as she becomes part of hostile daily news.

'Nazanin reports feeling continually restless and out of focus, unable to concentrate on things like reading.

'This weekend she again suggested she is on the verge of a nervous breakdown – a perpetual sense of not knowing what to do.'

Mr Zaghari-Ratcliffe added: 'As her husband, my complaint is not that Nazanin's imprisonment has become a diplomatic incident this past week. It is that it wasn't for the 19 months before. I thank everyone for their part in making that shift.'

Mr Johnson's comments were seized upon by the Iranian judiciary who hailed her back before the court to face fresh propaganda charges and another five years behind bars.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is pictured with her husband Richard who is desperate to see her back home with their three-year-old for Christmas

The 38-year-old from London is pictured with her husband Richard and their now three-year-old daughter Gabriella

The mother-of-one, 38, 'expressed anger' at Mr Johnson over the 'shambles' her case has become but her family said they do not believe the Foreign Secretary should quit.

Asked today what the British mother-of-one was doing in Iran, Environment Secretary Mr Gove said: 'I don't know.'

The remark risks casting doubt over the British mother-of-one's account of her time in Iran – even though the official Foreign Office position is she was visiting her family.

Mr Gove also defended his Cabinet colleague Boris Johnson, who is facing growing calls to be sacked as Foreign Secretary over his potentially costly gaffe.

It comes as Mr Johnson finally spoke to Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband today and agreed to meet with him either this week or next.

Jon Trickett MP, Labour's shadow minister for the Cabinet Office, said: 'Boris Johnson's cavalier approach to international diplomacy is compounded this morning by Michael Gove claiming he has no idea what Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was doing in Iran. It has always been clear, she was on holiday visiting her family.

Tory MP for Broxstowe, Anna Soubry, branded Mr Gove's comments a 'deeply concerning and irresponsible response'.

Mr Gove insisted Mr Johnson should not be ousted and suggested calls for him to go are a distraction from those who should be blamed for Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe's ordeal – the Iranians.

He told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show: 'We know that the Iranian regime is capable of abusing the human rights of its own citizens.

'It appears here to be harming the human rights of someone whose plight necessarily moves us all.'

Gabriella (pictured with her mother) has been staying with her grandparents in Iran while her mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is incarcerated and fighting spy charges

The 38-year-old from London is pictured with her husband Richard and their now three-year-old daughter Gabriella

Told that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her husband Richard insist she was in Iran with her young daughter Gabriella to visit her parents, Mr Gove said: 'In that case I take exactly her husband's assurance in that regard.'

Asked if he thought she was training journalists, he said: 'Well, her husband says that she was there on holiday, and he's the person who should know.

'Her family should be the people who are in our thoughts at this time.'

He said criticism of Mr Johnson was part of an 'effort to shift the blame away from those who are really at fault here, and that is the Iranian regime'.

And he refused to say the Foreign Secretary should apologise for his blunder.

He added: 'There is nothing the Iranian regime would like more than for the blame to be shifted from them onto us.

'And I think we make a big mistake if we blame politicians in a democracy who are trying to do the right thing for the plight of a woman who is being imprisoned by a regime that is a serial abuser of human rights.

'Who's in the dock here? Iran.'

He added: 'If the Iranian judiciary wants to use the words of a democrat in order to justify an unjustifiable decision, it is our responsibility to call them out.

'Whatever we as democrats say is going to be seized upon by extremists for their own purposes – and we play their game if we point the finger at democrats who are trying to do the right thing.'

Tory MP Anna Soubry joined in the condemnation of Michael Gove's comments branding them 'concerning and irresponsible'

Michael Gove Boris Johnson

Michael Gove rallied to the defence of his Cabinet colleague Boris Johnson, saying calls for him to be sacked over his blunder – which could cost Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe another five years in person – is a distraction form the real villains in the saga – the Iranians

'It appears Gove is more interested in protecting Johnson's job than the liberty of a British citizen in jail in Iran.

'Theresa May must ensure Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe does not pay the price for her ministers' bungling.'

Jeremy Corbyn and London Mayor Sadiq Khan have both called for Mr Johnson to be sacked over comments.

Speaking this morning, Mr Khan said: 'I think he has got to go.

'If Theresa May was a stronger Prime Minster she would have sacked him a long time ago.'

Mr Corbyn said: 'We've put up with Johnson embarrassing and undermining our country with his incompetence and colonial throwback views and putting our citizens at risk for long enough. It's time for him to go.'

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband Richard has demanded that Mr Johnson 'get on a plane' to meet his wife after his blunder.

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Australia

Why Australia decided to quit its vaping habit

Published

2 weeks ago

May 28, 2023

Europe Disk

He’s talking about students in his class, teenagers, who can’t stop vaping.

He sees the effect of the candy-flavoured, nicotine-packed e-cigarettes on young minds every day, with children even vaping in class.

“The ones who are deepest into it will just get up out of their seat, or they’ll be fidgeting or nervous. The worst offenders will just walk out because they’re literally in withdrawal.”

Those who are most addicted need nicotine patches or rehabilitation, he says, talking about 13 and 14-year-olds.

is enough and introduced a range of new restrictions. Despite vapes already being illegal for many, under new legislation they will become available by prescription only.

The number of vaping teenagers in Australia has soared in recent years and authorities say it is the “number one behavioural issue” in schools across the country.

And they blame disposable vapes – which some experts say could be more addictive than heroin and cocaine – but for now are available in Australia in every convenience store, next to the chocolate bars at the counter.

For concerned teachers like Chris, their hands have been tied.

“If we suspect they have a vape, all we can really do is tell them to go to the principal’s office.

“At my old school, my head teacher told me he wanted to install vape detector alarms in the toilet, but apparently we weren’t allowed to because that would be an invasion of privacy.”

E-cigarettes have been sold as a safer alternative to tobacco, as they do not produce tar – the primary cause of lung cancer.

Some countries continue to promote them with public health initiatives to help cigarette smokers switch to a less deadly habit.

Last month, the UK government announced plans to hand out free vaping starter kits to one million smokers in England to get smoking rates below 5% by 2030.

But Australia’s government says that evidence that e-cigarettes help smokers quit is insufficient for now. Instead, research shows it may push young vapers into taking up smoking later in life.

‘Generation Vape’

Vapes, or e-cigarettes, are lithium battery-powered devices that have cartridges filled with liquids containing nicotine, artificial flavourings, and other chemicals.

The liquid is heated and turned into a vapour and inhaled into the user’s lungs.

Vaping took off from the mid-2000s and there were some 81 million vapers worldwide in 2021, according to the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction group.

Fuelling the rise is the mushrooming popularity of flavoured vapes designed to appeal to the young.

These products can contain far higher volumes of nicotine than regular cigarettes, while some devices sold as ‘nicotine-free’ can actually hold large amounts.

The chemical cocktail also contains formaldehyde, and acetaldehyde – which have been linked to lung disease, heart disease, and cancer.

There’s also a suggestion of an increased risk of stroke, respiratory infection, and impaired lung function.

Experts warn not enough is known about the long-term health effects. But some alarming data has already been drawn out.

In 2020, US health authorities identified more than 2,800 cases of e-cigarette or vaping-related lung injury. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 68 deaths attributed to that injury.

In Australia, a major study by leading charity The Cancer Council found more than half of all children who had ever vaped had used an e-cigarette they knew contained nicotine and thought that vaping was a socially acceptable behaviour.

School-age children were being supplied with e-cigarettes through friends or “dealers” inside and outside school, or from convenience stores and tobacconists, the report said.

Teens also reported purchasing vapes through social media, websites and at pop-up vape stores, the Generation Vape project found.

“Whichever way teenagers obtain e-cigarettes, they are all illegal, yet it’s happening under the noses of federal and state authorities”, report author and Cancer Council chair Anita Dessaix said.

“All Australian governments say they’re committed to ensuring e-cigarettes are only accessed by smokers with a prescription trying to quit – yet a crisis in youth e-cigarette use is unfolding in plain view.”

In addition to the government’s move to ban the import of all non-pharmaceutical vaping products – meaning they can now only be bought with a prescription – all single-use disposable vapes will be made illegal.

The volume and concentration of nicotine in e-cigarettes will also be restricted, and both flavours and packaging must be plain and carrying warning labels.

But these new measures are not actually all that drastic, says public health physician Professor Emily Banks from the Australian National University.

“Australia is not an outlier. It is unique to have a prescription-only model, but other places actually ban them completely, and that includes almost all of Latin America, India, Thailand and Japan.”

‘We have been duped’

Health Minister Mark Butler said the new vaping regulations will close the “biggest loophole in Australian healthcare history”.

“Just like they did with smoking… ‘Big Tobacco’ has taken another addictive product, wrapped it in shiny packaging and added sweet flavours to create a new generation of nicotine addicts.”

“We have been duped”, he said.

Medical experts agree. Prof Banks argues that the promotion of e-cigarettes as a “healthier” alternative was a classic “sleight-of-hand” from the tobacco industry.

As such vaping has become “normalised” in Australia, and in the UK too.

“There’s over 17,000 flavours, and the majority of use is not for smoking cessation”, she tells the BBC.

“They’re being heavily marketed towards children and adolescents. People who are smoking and using e-cigarettes – that’s the most common pattern of use, dual use.”

Professor Banks says authorities need to “de-normalise” vaping among teenagers and make vapes much harder to get hold of.

“Kids are interpreting the fact that they can very easily get hold of [vapes] as evidence [they’re safe], and they’re actually saying, ‘well, if they were that unsafe, I wouldn’t be able to buy one at the coffee shop’.

But could stricter controls make it harder for people who do turn to vapes hoping to quit or cut down on tobacco?

“It is important to bear in mind that for some people, e-cigarettes have really helped. But we shouldn’t say ‘this is great for smokers to quit’, says Prof Banks.

“We know from

Australia, from the US, from Europe, that two-thirds to three-quarters of people who quit smoking successfully, do so unaided.”

“You’re trying to bring these [vapes] in saying they’re a great way to quit smoking, but actually we’ve got bubble gum flavoured vapes being used by 13-year-olds in the school toilets. That is not what the community signed up for.”

Read from: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-65522841

Australia

Australia: Scott Morrison saga casts scrutiny on Queen’s representative

Published

9 months ago

August 27, 2022

Europe Disk

In the past fortnight, Australia has been gripped by revelations that former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison secretly appointed himself to several additional ministries.

The move has been labelled a “power grab” by his successor as prime minister, and Mr Morrison has been scolded by many – even his own colleagues.

But the scandal has also dragged Australia’s governor-general into the fray – sparking one of the biggest controversies involving the Queen’s representative in Australia in 50 years.

So does Governor-General David Hurley have questions to answer, or is he just collateral damage?

‘Just paperwork’

Governors-general have fulfilled the practical duties as Australia’s head of state since the country’s 1901 federation.

Candidates for the role were initially chosen by the monarch but are now recommended by the Australian government.

The job is largely ceremonial – a governor-general in almost every circumstance must act on the advice of the government of the day. But conventions allow them the right to “encourage” and “warn” politicians.

Key duties include signing bills into law, issuing writs for elections, and swearing in ministers.

Mr Hurley has run into trouble on the latter. At Mr Morrison’s request, he swore the prime minister in as joint minister for health in March 2020, in case the existing minister became incapacitated by Covid.

Over the next 14 months, he also signed off Mr Morrison as an additional minister in the finance, treasury, home affairs and resources portfolios.

Mr Morrison already had ministerial powers, so Mr Hurley was basically just giving him authority over extra departments.

It’s a request the governor-general “would not have any kind of power to override or reject”, constitutional law professor Anne Twomey tells the BBC.

“This wasn’t even a meeting between the prime minister and the governor-general, it was just paperwork.”

But Mr Morrison’s appointments were not publicly announced, disclosed to the parliament, or even communicated to most of the ministers he was job-sharing with.

Australia’s solicitor-general found Mr Morrison’s actions were not illegal but had “fundamentally undermined” responsible government.

But the governor-general had done the right thing, the solicitor-general said in his advice this week.

It would have been “a clear breach” for him to refuse the prime minister, regardless of whether he knew the appointments would be kept secret, Stephen Donaghue said.

Critics push for investigation

Ultimately, Mr Hurley had to sign off on Mr Morrison’s requests, but critics say he could have counselled him against it and he could have publicised it himself.

But representatives for the governor-general say these types of appointments – giving ministers the right to administer other departments – are not unusual.

And it falls to the government of the day to decide if they should be announced to the public. They often opt not to.

Mr Hurley himself announcing the appointments would be unprecedented. He had “no reason to believe that appointments would not be communicated”, his spokesperson said.

Emeritus professor Jenny Hocking finds the suggestion Mr Hurley didn’t know the ministries had been kept secret “ridiculous”.

“The last of these bizarre, duplicated ministry appointments… were made more than a year after the first, so clearly by then the governor-general did know that they weren’t being made public,” she says.

“I don’t agree for a moment that the governor-general has a lot of things on his plate and might not have noticed.”

The historian says it’s one of the biggest controversies surrounding a governor-general since John Kerr caused a constitutional crisis by sacking Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in 1975.

Prof Hocking famously fought for transparency around that matter – waging a lengthy and costly legal battle that culminated in the release of Mr Kerr’s correspondence with the Queen.

And she says the same transparency is needed here.

The Australian public need to know whether Mr Hurley counselled the prime minister against the moves, and why he didn’t disclose them

The government has already announced an inquiry into Mr Morrison’s actions, but she wants it to look at the governor-general and his office too.

“If the inquiry is to find out what happened in order to fix what happened, it would be extremely problematic to leave out a key part of that equation.”

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull – Mr Morrison’s predecessor – has also voiced support for an inquiry.

“Something has gone seriously wrong at Government House,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

“It is the passive compliance along the chain… that did undermine our constitution and our democracy… that troubles me the most. This is how tyranny gets under way.”

PM defends governor-general

Prof Twomey says the criticism of Mr Hurley is unfair – there’s was no “conspiracy” on his part to keep things secret.

“I don’t think it’s reasonable for anyone to expect that he could have guessed that the prime minister was keeping things secret from his own ministers, for example.

“Nobody really thought that was a possibility until about two weeks ago.”

Even if he had taken the unprecedented step to publicise the appointments or to reject Mr Morrison’s request, he’d have been criticised, she says.

“There’d be even more people saying ‘how outrageous!'” she says. “The role of governor-general is awkward because people are going to attack you either way.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has also defended Mr Hurley, saying he was just doing his job.

“I have no intention of undertaking any criticism of [him].”

A role fit for purpose?

Prof Hocking says it’s a timely moment to look at the role of the governor-general more broadly.

She points out it’s possible the Queen may have been informed about Mr Morrison’s extra ministries when Australia’s parliament and people were not.

“It does raise questions about whether this is fit for purpose, as we have for decades been a fully independent nation, but we still have… ‘the relics of colonialism’ alive and well.”

Momentum for a fresh referendum on an Australian republic has been growing and advocates have seized on the controversy.

“The idea that the Queen and her representative can be relied upon to uphold our system of government has been debunked once and for all,” the Australian Republic Movement’s Sandy Biar says.

“It’s time we had an Australian head of state, chosen by Australians and accountable to them to safeguard and uphold Australia’s constitution.”

But Prof Twomey says republicans are “clutching at straws” – under their proposals, the head of state would also have been bound to follow the prime minister’s advice.

“It wouldn’t result in any changes that would have made one iota of difference.”

Read from: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-62683210

Australia

Australia election: PM Morrison’s security team in car crash in Tasmania

Published

1 year ago

April 16, 2022

Europe Disk

A car carrying the Australian prime minister’s security team has crashed in Tasmania during an election campaign visit.

Four police officers were taken to hospital with “non-life threatening injuries” after the car and another vehicle collided, authorities said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison was not in the car, but the accident prompted him to cancel the rest of his campaign events on Thursday.

The other driver involved was not hurt.

Tasmania Police said initial investigations suggested the second car had “collided with the rear of the police vehicle, while attempting to merge”. It caused the unmarked security vehicle to roll off the road.

The two Tasmania Police officers and two Australian Federal Police officers were conscious when taken to hospital for medical assessment, the prime minister’s office said.

“Family members of the officers have been contacted and are being kept informed of their condition,” a statement said.

“The PM is always extremely grateful for the protection provided by his security team and extends his best wishes for their recovery and to their families.”

Australians go to the polls on 21 May. Mr Morrison – prime minister since 2018 – is hoping to win his conservative coalition’s fourth term in office.

Polls suggest the opposition Labor Party, led by Anthony Albanese, is favoured to win. However, Mr Morrison defied similar polling to claim victory at the last election in 2019.

Mr Morrison’s Liberal-National coalition holds 76 seats in the House of Representatives – the minimum needed to retain power.

Political observers say the cost of living, climate change, trust in political leaders, and national security will be among key issues in the campaign.

In recent weeks, the prime minister has faced accusations of being a bully and once sabotaging a rival’s career by suggesting the man’s Lebanese heritage made him less electable. Mr Morrison has denied the allegations.

Mr Albanese stumbled into his own controversy this week when he failed to recall the nation’s unemployment or interest rates.

Read from: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-61103987