World
Jamie Oliver pulls children’s book after outcry from Indigenous Australians
British celebrity chef says he is ‘devastated’ his fantasy book caused offence.
British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has pulled his latest children’s book from sale after complaints that it contributed to the stereotyping of Indigenous Australians.
Oliver, who is in Australia promoting his latest recipe book, said he was “devastated” that his fantasy novel Billy And The Epic Escape had caused offence and he apologised “wholeheartedly”.
“It was never my intention to misinterpret this deeply painful issue,” Oliver, 49, said in a statement.
“Together with my publishers we have decided to withdraw the book from sale.”
Publisher Penguin Random House said that its publishing standards “fell short on this occasion” and “we must learn from that and take decisive action”.
Set in England, Billy and the Epic Escape includes a subplot featuring an Indigenous girl who is abducted while living in foster care in Alice Springs in central Australia.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Corporation, Australia’s peak body for Indigenous education, led calls for the book’s withdrawal, telling The Guardian news outlet the book was “disrespectful” and contributed to the “erasure, trivialisation, and stereotyping of First Nations peoples and experiences”.
Indigenous figures also criticised the book for mixing together different Indigenous languages and discussing child abduction, given the history of the “Stolen Generations,” referring to the thousands of Indigenous children forcibly taken from their families and placed in foster care under policies that continued until the 1970s.
“While Oliver has apologised, the impact of such misrepresentation on First Nations children and communities cannot be understated,” Sue-Anne Hunter, an Indigenous woman and adjunct professor at Federation University in Victoria, said in a post on Instagram.
“It perpetuates harmful stereotypes and risks reinforcing colonial narratives at a time when we should be amplifying authentic Indigenous voices and stories.”
Oliver, who launched his first children’s book Billy And The Giant Adventure last year, is best known for his cookbooks and food-related television shows, including The Naked Chef, which ran for three seasons on the BBC from 1999 to 2001.
World
Video: Israel and Hezbollah Trade Deadly Attacks
Israeli strikes pounded areas in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a day after eight people were killed, according to the authorities, in the northernmost attack on Lebanese soil since the start of the war. Israeli officials said two men were killed in a rocket attack from Lebanon on Tuesday.
World
Germany braces under collapsing government and looming Trump trade war
With the re-election of former President Donald Trump to the White House and the collapse of the coalition government under German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Germany is bracing for an economically and politically dubious time.
From the campaign trail, Trump pledged to increase import tariffs on friends and foes alike under the “Trump Reciprocal Trade Act” which would increase all U.S. tariffs to match the taxes enforced by each corresponding country.
“If India, China, or any other country hits us with a 100 or 200 percent tariff on American-made goods, we will hit them with the same exact tariff,” he outlined in his campaign agenda. “If they charge US, we charge THEM—an eye for an eye, a tariff for a tariff, same exact amount.”
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However, it is unclear if the president-elect still plans to push these specific tariff increases, as he has also suggested there should be a 10% tariff on imports from all countries, as well as 60% duties on imports from China, according to a Reuters report.
China was not the only country in Trump’s crosshairs, as the now president-elect also referred to the European Union (EU) as a “mini China” and warned the bloc would have to pay up.
“They don’t take our cars. They don’t take our farm products. They sell millions and millions of cars in the United States,” he told supporters at an October rally in Pennsylvania. “No, no, no. They are going to have to pay a big price.”
Some economic experts have warned that increasing tariffs – which are paid by companies importing the goods, not by government entities – could lead to rising costs worldwide, including in the U.S., as well as further inflation.
A report earlier this month by the German Marshall Fund (GMF) pointed to findings by Germany’s Institute for Economic Research in Cologne that said the promised Trump tariffs are estimated to cost the country roughly $127 billion over the next four years.
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“Trump’s victory does not bode well for a Germany that is dependent on U.S. security and thrives on open markets,” the GMF said in its report on how the U.S. election will impact Germany. “And uncertainty in Europe’s largest economy is not ideal when the EU needs to find its place in a world in which the U.S. president is not expected to support the traditional, rules-based international order.”
However, it is not only Germany’s flagging economy that could spell uncertainty for Berlin’s international standing, as Scholz faces a vote of no confidence in January after he fired his Finance Minister Christian Lindner and his coalition government collapsed.
A confidence vote is now set to be held in Germany on December 16 – which Scholz, given his minority status, is expected to lose.
The most likely next step will be for German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to dissolve the parliament and call for elections which are not expected to be held on Feb. 23, 2025.
The EU now stares down a potential trade war with the Trump administration while one of its leading nations, both geopolitically and economically, will essentially sit as a lame duck while Berlin waits to see who will be next to lead the country.
German opposition leader Friedrich Merz – who could find himself the next German chancellor – said he intends to cut a deal with Trump.
In an interview with Stern magazine, Merz reportedly said, “In Germany, we have never really articulated and enforced our interests well enough, and we have to change that.
“The Americans are much more on the offensive. It shouldn’t end with only one side profiting, but rather with us making good arrangements for both sides,” Merz said according to a Bloomberg report on the interview. “Trump would call it a deal.”
World
There is no safe zone in Gaza, warns UNRWA
UNRWA’s Scott Anderson described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as critical and called on all sides to respect civilian safe zones.
The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip remains critical and could deteriorate further, warns the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA).
Speaking to Euronews in Brussels, UNRWA Director in Gaza, Scott Anderson, called on all parties to the conflict to respect the sanctity of safe places for civilians.
“There’s nowhere safe in Gaza. Including the safe zones. And unfortunately, all parties to the conflict are not respecting the sanctity of sites that should be safe for civilians, including hospitals and schools.” said Anderson.
He stressed that both UNRWA facilities and Palestinian schools have been targeted, appealing to all sides to uphold the protection of these locations so civilians can find safety for themselves and their families.
Too cosy with Hamas?
Anderson also responded to past allegations that his agency was too lenient with Hamas, which the EU designates as a terrorist organisation.
He underlined that UNRWA took swift action after discovering that some of its employees were linked to the group.
When asked if he could confidently say that UNRWA had removed all Hamas operatives, Anderson was frank in his reply:
“No, I don’t think anybody can say anything with certainty about their workforce anywhere. We have over 13,000 people. We do take ‘neutrality’ very seriously, as shown by the commissioner general’s very swift action. But no, I can’t with certainty say that’s done,” he said.
Anderson also reiterated that they don’t have any evidence of employing Hamas members, and if they did, the necessary actions would have already been taken.
You can watch the full interview on the situation in Gaza on Thursday and online at euronews.com.
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