{
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    "title": "Australian PM Walks Back, Says Prison Time 'Highly Unlikely' For Escaping Covid Hit India ",
    "lang": "en",
    "series": "424",
    "cup_year": "2021",
    "article_type": "General",
    "excerpt": "Australia's prime minister fended off accusations of racism and having blood on his hands on Tuesday, as he retreated from a threat to jail Australians trying to escape Covid-wracked India. Scott ",
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    "editor1": "<p>Australia&#39;s prime minister fended off accusations of racism and having blood on his hands on Tuesday, as he retreated from a threat to jail Australians trying to escape Covid-wracked India.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Scott Morrison&#39;s government moved to ban travellers from India from entering Australia until May 15, threatening rule-breakers -- including Australian citizens -- with prison time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Amid a widespread backlash, Morrison on Tuesday said it was &quot;highly unlikely&quot; that Australians who skirted a ban would be jailed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&quot;I think the likelihood of any of that occurring is pretty much zero,&quot; Morrison said in a breakfast-time media blitz on Tuesday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Around 9,000 Australians are believed to be in India, where hundreds of thousands of new coronavirus cases are being detected every day and the death toll is soaring.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Among those trapped are some of Australia&#39;s most high-profile sporting stars -- cricketers playing in the lucrative Indian Premier League(IPL).<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Commentator and form Test cricket star Michael Slater was among those who pilloried Morrison&#39;s decision as a &quot;disgrace&quot;.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&quot;Blood on your hands PM. How dare you treat us like this,&quot; he tweeted. &quot;If our Government cared for the safety of Aussies they would allow us to get home.&quot;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\r\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">If our Government cared for the safety of Aussies they would allow us to get home. It&#39;s a disgrace!! Blood on your hands PM. How dare you treat us like this. How about you sort out quarantine system. I had government permission to work on the IPL but I now have government neglect<\/p>\r\n&mdash; Michael Slater (@mj_slats) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mj_slats\/status\/1389147322425110541?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 3, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote>\r\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n\r\n<p>Morrison said the idea he had blood on his hands was &quot;absurd&quot;.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&quot;There have been a lot of difficult decisions during Covid and people will criticise me and my government for it,&quot; he told Nine television.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&quot;I&#39;m not going to fail Australia. I&#39;m going to protect our borders at this time,&quot; he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The decision came into force on Monday and was denounced by rights groups and some of Morrison&#39;s most prominent allies including Sky News commentator Andrew Bolt who said it &quot;stinks of racism&quot;.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Australia has largely avoided the worst of the pandemic, through some of the strictest border controls in the world.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>There is a blanket ban on travel to-and-from the country unless an exemption is secured.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Non-residents are mostly banned from entering and anyone who does come into the country must carry out a mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>But that system has come under increasing strain as the virus has jumped from quarantine facilities and caused a series of outbreaks in the largely unvaccinated community.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The conservative prime minister faces reelection in the next 12 months, and had hoped Australia&#39;s relatively successful handling of the pandemic would propel him to victory.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>But the India travel ban and a glacial vaccine rollout have prompted criticism.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Australia has administered 2.2 million vaccine doses out of a population of 25 million people, who each need two doses to be fully immunised.<\/p>\r\n",
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    "created": "2021-05-04 10:48:52",
    "updated": "2021-05-04 10:49:34",
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