Australia was a model in how to handle Covid. Now it's a mess
CNN
Summer in Australia is traditionally a time of beaches and barbecues, but this year it's become a hot mess of rising Covid cases and a national shortage of rapid antigen tests.
Last week, worker absences due to Covid isolation and illness became so severe that the national cabinet considered lowering the age limit for forklift licenses so that minors could pitch in to smooth supply chains.
Ministers ultimately decided not to go ahead with the plan. But the idea that Australia, a country once lauded for its Covid-19 response, was considering such a move appeared to show how much the country's leaders were struggling.
President Joe Biden asserted Friday that Hamas has been degraded to a point where it can no longer carry out the type of attack that launched the current 8-month conflict in Gaza, laying out a three-phase proposal Israel has submitted to wind down the grinding crisis as he declared, “It’s time for this war to end.