There are only so many times you can say that Queen Elizabeth II died before it starts to sound like you’re in a Monty Python sketch. You can just imagine it, can’t you? “This Queen is no more,” John Cleese would yell. “She has ceased to be! If you had nailed her to the throne, she’d be pushing up the daisies! This is an ex-Elizabeth!”
So, instead of going down that route, let’s instead focus on some other important news that has happened. Because while England has stopped, the rest of the planet has kept turning. Here are the biggest headlines of the day that you need to know about:
Queensland Wants to Revamp Its EV Plan
The Queensland Government has turned to its people and asked the question: What would it take you to buy an electric car? They have done this by launching an online poll called the “zero emission vehicle community survey.”
In this survey, they ask you to rank the following initiatives:
- Registration discounts
- Upfront purchase subsidies
- Energy bills discounts when charging an EV at home
- Publicly funded fast-charging infrastructure
- Slowly banning the sale of petrol and diesel
- Interest-free loans
- Parking and lane privileges
Moreover, those aren’t the only ideas they want your thoughts on and they ask a whack of other questions. On the survey’s intro page, the Queensland Government has stated, “We are committed to supporting and encouraging more people and industries to move to zero emission vehicles.” If this survey bears some excellent fruit, that would be an outstanding outcome.
Ukraine Is Possibly Smashing the Stuffings Out of Russia
Huge if true: The Ukrainian military says that it has retaken over 3,000 sq km of eastern Ukraine. They claimed that this was the case after Ukrainian troops entered the Russian-held towns of Izyum and Kupiansk during a counter-offensive. However, the BBC has stated that the veracity of Ukraine’s claims are yet to be confirmed.
Related: What The World is Doing to Stop the Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Related: Putin’s War Crimes Have Shocked the World — A Journalist Details the Reality In Ukraine Right Now
The Floods in Pakistan Have Gotten Worse
Since the last time The Latch discussed Pakistan’s flood crisis, the situation’s tragic stakes have increased even higher. As per The New York Times, millions of people have been displaced, almost all of their crops have been damaged, and people are terrified that they will soon have nothing to eat.
“The Pakistani people are facing a monsoon on steroids, the relentless impact of epochal levels of rain and flooding,” explained the United Nations’ Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres. He stated this fact during an appeal for more international aid.
Unfortunately, even before Queen Elizabeth’s death, not enough countries were providing Pakistan with the support that they need right now. Moreover, this won’t change without mounting public pressure. We need to call our leaders out on their lack of action.
Some Outback Queenslanders Welcome More Rain
Meanwhile, in Australia, graziers in south-west Queensland have welcomed some wet weather that recently came their way. These folks have been hit with some rain that could help the drought-affected land heal. “Having this rain will grow some more feed,” a grazier named Will Treloar told the ABC. He also explained, “With feed you’ve got options, we try to keep a bit extra up our sleeves until the next opportunistic thing comes along that we can capitalise on.”
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