Captain Cook Statue in Sydney Defaced Ahead of Australia’s National Day 

A statue of Captain James Cook is covered in red paint after being vandalized, in Randwick, Sydney, Australia, 24 January 2025. It is the second time in 12 months that the statue has been vandalized. (EPA)
A statue of Captain James Cook is covered in red paint after being vandalized, in Randwick, Sydney, Australia, 24 January 2025. It is the second time in 12 months that the statue has been vandalized. (EPA)
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Captain Cook Statue in Sydney Defaced Ahead of Australia’s National Day 

A statue of Captain James Cook is covered in red paint after being vandalized, in Randwick, Sydney, Australia, 24 January 2025. It is the second time in 12 months that the statue has been vandalized. (EPA)
A statue of Captain James Cook is covered in red paint after being vandalized, in Randwick, Sydney, Australia, 24 January 2025. It is the second time in 12 months that the statue has been vandalized. (EPA)

A statue in Sydney of British explorer James Cook, captain of the first Western ship to reach the east coast of Australia, was sprayed with red paint and damaged two days before Australia's national day, authorities said on Friday.

It was the second time the statue has been defaced and vandalized in the last year. Police said that they had begun an investigation and that several items had been found near the statue.

Local councilor Carolyn Martin said the vandals may have scaled a fence around the statue using a ladder, which they left behind.

"It's an absolute mess," Martin told radio station 2GB. "They have splattered paint all over it, then they have managed to get to the top of the statue and they've knocked his hand off and also part of his face and nose."

For many Indigenous Australians, who trace their lineage on the continent back 50,000 years and make up about 4% of the country's population of 27 million, the Australia Day holiday is known as Invasion Day, symbolizing the destruction of their cultures by European settlers.

Many Indigenous groups want Australia to drop celebrations or move the date, which marks the anniversary of the arrival of the British First Fleet in 1788.

Every year on Jan. 26, protesters rally against the mistreatment of Indigenous people, who are by most socio-economic measures the most disadvantaged people in the country.

A survey by the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper on Friday showed the support to keep Jan. 26 as Australia's national day surged to 61% from 47% over the past two years, signaling a shift in voters' sentiment.



China Snow Village Apologizes for Fake Cotton Snow 

People walk along a street in Beijing, China, 16 February 2025. (EPA) 
People walk along a street in Beijing, China, 16 February 2025. (EPA) 
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China Snow Village Apologizes for Fake Cotton Snow 

People walk along a street in Beijing, China, 16 February 2025. (EPA) 
People walk along a street in Beijing, China, 16 February 2025. (EPA) 

A tourist village in China's southwestern province of Sichuan famed for its scenic snow landscape said it was sorry for using cotton wool and soapy water to create fake snow after online criticism from visitors went viral.

In a post on its official Wechat account on February 8, the Chengdu Snow Village project said during the Lunar New Year holiday at the end of January, the weather was warm and the snow village did not take shape as anticipated.

China is facing hotter and longer heat waves and more frequent and unpredictable heavy rain as a result of climate change, the country's weather bureau has warned.

"In order to create a 'snowy' atmosphere the tourist village purchased cotton for the snow...but it did not achieve the expected effect, leaving a very bad impression on tourists who came to visit," the Chengdu Snow Village project said in the statement.

After receiving feedback from the majority of netizens, the tourist area began to clean up all the snow cotton.

The village said it "deeply apologizes" for the changes and that tourists could get a refund. The site has since been closed.

Photos on Wechat showed large cotton wool sheets strewn about the grounds, only partially covering leafy areas. A thick snow layer appeared to blanket the houses in the zone but as you got closer, it was all cotton, said one netizen.

"A snow village without snow," said another user.

"In today's age of well-developed Internet, scenic spots must advertise truthfully and avoid deception or false advertising, otherwise they will only shoot themselves in the foot."