Lettuce shortage forces Australia KFC to switch to cabbage

SYDNEY, Australia - Fried chicken chain KFC said Tuesday that high lettuce prices in Australia have forced it to switch to a cabbage mix in burgers and other products, prompting customers to complain the result is less than "finger lickin' good".

The local price of the verdant leaf has soared by as much as 300 percent in recent months, forcing the fast-food chain to tweak the Colonel's recipe in some stores.

"We're currently experiencing a lettuce shortage. So, we're using a lettuce and cabbage blend on all products containing lettuce until further notice," the company told customers.

The company blamed widespread flooding in the country's east for the problem.

But supply chain expert Flavio Macau of Edith Cowan University said Russia's invasion of Ukraine was also a factor, pushing up diesel and fertilizer prices.

A single head of iceberg lettuce in Sydney or Melbourne that once sold for about $2 now goes for close to $8.

The company told customers: "If that's not your bag, simply click 'customise' on your chosen product and remove lettuce from the recipe :)"

The change was certainly not the "bag" of some social media users.

"The fact that you are replacing lettuce with cabbage makes me rethink my whole meal at KFC. There's 4 or 5 other things I would eat before cabbage Its such a weird choice," said one disgruntled tweeter.

"Feels like a sign of the apocalypse," said another.

Agence France-Presse

Australia to shut state border as Melbourne infections surge

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian authorities were preparing to close the border between the country’s two largest states, as the country’s second-largest city, Melbourne, recorded two deaths and its highest-ever daily increase in infections on Monday.

The border between the states of New South Wales — home to Sydney — and Victoria — home to Melbourne — is due to be shut late Tuesday.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian was a critic of states that closed their borders to her state when Sydney had Australia’s largest number of coronavirus cases. But she said she changed her stance because the situation in Melbourne was unprecedented and indicated the pandemic was in a new phase.

The overwhelming majority of new infections detected in Melbourne in recent weeks were from community transmission. Everywhere else in Australia, the vast majority of people who tested positive for the virus were infected overseas or had been infected by a returned traveler, Berejiklian said.

“What is occurring in Victoria has not yet occurred anywhere else in Australia,” she said Monday. “It’s a new part of the pandemic and, as such, it requires a new type of response.”

The Victorian government locked down 36 of the most virus-prone Melbourne suburbs last week and at the weekend added another four suburbs because of the disease spread.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said of the 127 new cases recorded overnight, 53 were among 3,000 people who have been confined by police to their apartments in nine public housing blocks since Saturday.

Australia’s Acting Chief Medical Officer Paulk Kelly has described the high-rises as “vertical cruise ships” because of the high risk of virus spread.

Police allege a 32-year-old man bit a police officer on Monday as he attempted to leave a high-rise in the suburb of Flemington. He would be charged with assault, resisting police and attempting to breach a pandemic order, Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said.

The infections announced Monday surpassed the first surge of infections in Melbourne that peaked on March 28 at 111 cases recorded in a day.

Daniels said he agreed with Berejiklian and Prime Minister Scott Morrison, a Sydney resident, that the border needed to close. Three in five Australian residents live in Sydney or Melbourne and the air services between the two cities before the pandemic were among the busiest in the world.

“I think it is the smart call, the right call at this time, given the significant challenges we face in containing this virus,” Andrews said.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd confirmed that federal authorities agreed with the closure. The federal government had previously opposed any internal border closures aimed mostly at stopping spread from Victoria and New South Wales. Morrison had urged state leaders to open their borders for the good of the economy.

Kidd said that only 16% of new cases detected in Australia in the past week had been infected overseas. Two weeks ago, 50% of new cases were people infected overseas and detected in hotel quarantine, he said.

“The situation in Melbourne has come as a jolt, not just of the people of Melbourne but people right across Australia who may have thought that this was all behind us. It is not,” Kidd said.

Outside of Victoria, another 13 cases reported in the past 24 hours were people infected overseas. Of those, 10 had been in hotel quarantine in New South Wales and three in Western Australia

New South Wales police will enforce the Victorian border closure. Some flights and trains services would continue for travelers who are given permits and exemptions, Berejiklian said.

New South Wales Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said officers would use drones to detect people who attempt across the border via forest tracks to avoid the 55 policed road and bridge crossings.

Nationwide, Australia has recorded more than 8,500 total infections and 106 deaths.

_____

McGuirk contributed to this report from Canberra Australia.

Associated Press

US company trials coronavirus vaccine candidate in Australia

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A U.S. biotechnology company began injecting a coronavirus vaccine candidate into people in Australia on Tuesday with hopes of releasing a proven vaccine this year.

Novavax will inject 131 volunteers in the first phase of the trial testing the safety of the vaccine and looking for signs of its effectiveness, the company’s research chief Dr. Gregory Glenn said.

About a dozen experimental vaccines against the coronavirus are in early stages of testing or poised to start, mostly in China, the U.S. and Europe. It’s not clear that any will prove safe and effective. But many work in different ways, and are made with different technologies, increasing the odds that at least one approach might succeed.

“We are in parallel making doses, making vaccine in anticipation that we’ll be able to show it’s working and be able to start deploying it by the end of this year,” Glenn told a virtual news conference in Melbourne from Novavax’ headquarters in Maryland.

Animal testing suggested the vaccine is effective in low doses. Novavax could manufacture at least 100 million doses this year and 1.5 billion in 2021, he said.

Manufacture of the vaccine, named NVX-CoV2373, was being scaled up with $388 million invested by Norway-based Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations since March, Glenn said.

The results of the first phase of clinical trials in Melbourne and Brisbane are expected to be known in July, Novavax said. Thousands of candidates in several countries would then become involved in a second phase.

The trial began with six volunteers being injected with the potential vaccine in Melbourne on Tuesday, said Paul Griffin, infectious disease expert with Australian collaborator Nucleus Network.

Most of the experimental vaccines in progress aim to train the immune system to recognize the “spike” protein that studs the coronavirus’ outer surface, priming the body to react if it was exposed to the real virus. Some candidates are made using just the genetic code for that protein, and others use a harmless virus to deliver the protein-producing information. Still other vaccine candidates are more old-fashioned, made with dead, whole virus.

Novavax adds another new kind to that list, what’s called a recombinant vaccine. Novavax used genetic engineering to grow harmless copies of the coronavirus spike protein in giant vats of insect cells in a laboratory. Scientists extracted and purified the protein, and packaged it into virus-sized nanoparticles.

“The way we make a vaccine is we never touch the virus,” Novavax told The Associated Press last month. But ultimately, “it looks just like a virus to the immune system.”

It’s the same process that Novavax used to create a nanoparticle flu vaccine that recently passed late-stage testing.

Associated Press 

Australia virus evacuees head for island quarantine

SYDNEY, Australia —  A flight carrying evacuees from the epicenter of the deadly China virus outbreak landed in Australia late Monday ahead of a 14-day quarantine at a notorious offshore immigration detention center.

The Qantas charter flight carrying 243 passengers—including 89 children—touched down at an Air Force base near the remote Western Australian town of Exmouth.

The Australian citizens and permanent residents on board were due to be flown in smaller planes to Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the flight was late leaving Wuhan due to a "very intensive process to manage the immigration and boarding arrangements" that also included medical checks.

Passengers will be quarantined for at least 14 days in an immigration detention center which gained notoriety as the venue where asylum seekers who attempted to reach Australia by boat were detained.

Officials say the evacuees will be held separately from a Sri Lankan family of four fighting their deportation—the only other residents of the facility.

"The plan is to cohort people in small family groups so that there won't be a full mingling, so that the whole group doesn't have to stay if someone does get unwell," chief medical officer Brendan Murphy said.

Australia is just the latest country to evacuate its citizens from Wuhan. Japan, the United States and France are among those that have already sent extraction flights.

Payne said the government was considering sending a second plane to Wuhan to evacuate more than around 300 other Australians.

Australia is also in talks with Pacific nations to help evacuate their citizens, but Payne said any foreign nationals that traveled on an Australian charter flight would also need to be quarantined on Christmas Island.

The virus has infected more than 14,000 people in China and killed more than 360. It has spread to more than 24 countries including Australia, where health officials have so far confirmed 12 cases.

Australia on Saturday barred non-citizens travelling from mainland China from entering the country for at least two weeks, while Qantas said it would suspend flights to Shanghai and Beijing starting February 9.

philstar.com

'Couldn't wish for better year': Woods completes road to redemption

MELBOURNE – Two years ago the future for Tiger Woods looked bleak to the point of darkness.

Four back surgeries, countless knee operations, marital strife and run-ins with the law meant Woods had not won a major since 2008, had no tournament victories since 2013 and had seen his world ranking plummet to 656.

But on Sunday, US player-captain Tiger Woods capped a year that has seen one of the most memorable comebacks in sporting history by driving his team to a 16-14 victory over Ernie Els' Internationals in the 13th Presidents Cup in Melbourne.

The second coming of Tiger began with a drought-ending victory at the Tour Championship 15 months ago and accelerated with a 15th major and fifth green jacket at the US Masters in Augusta.

Having returned to the world's top 10, Woods needed yet more surgery to his troublesome left knee in August before writing another remarkable chapter of his storied career.

In his first tournament appearance after the arthroscopic operation, Woods equalled Sam Snead's record of 82 US PGA Tour wins when he won the inaugural Zozo Championship in Japan.

"It's been an amazing year," a beaming Woods told Golf TV in Melbourne. "I'm speechless.

"To have won a major championship, a green jacket, to have tied Sam and to have won a cup with all these guys, I couldn't have asked for a better year."

The road to redemption began with his long-awaited win at the Tour Championship, the FedEx Cup finale, at East Lake, Atlanta, in September 2018.

Woods had endured two years out of the game and  shuffled out of the February 2018 Dubai Desert Classic, his tournament return, with back spasms, causing observers to question whether he could compete again at the highest level.

'I don't think I'll play again'

The thought had also crossed the mind of Woods.

Less than a year earlier he had hobbled into the Champions Dinner on the eve of the 2017 US Masters nursing yet another back injury, telling those assembled: "I'm done, I don't think I'll ever play golf again."

But two-and-a-half years later, Woods was unsurpassed at Royal Melbourne as he won all three of his matches and overtook Phil Mickelson for the most wins in Presidents Cup history.

"How about that? I like that stat," smiled Woods, after being told his win-loss-tie Cup record was now 27-15-1 against his great rival Mickelson's 26-16-13.

It left Els, not for the first time in his career, having to pick up the pieces after a defeat to Woods.

The big South African, widely praised for his captaincy which saw the Internationals lead after every session until Sunday when it mattered, might also regret his words on the eve of the tournament.

"I don't think today (Woods) has the same kind of aura he had in the past," Els had said.

Young Mexican Abraham Ancer is another player who might want to be careful about what he says in future.

"I would like to play against Tiger," Ancer said before the Presidents Cup began. "Winning a match in the singles would be very special."

He came up against a ruthless Woods who won 3 and 2.

"Abe wanted it," chided Woods. "And he got it."

Woods will fly home today to celebrate Christmas and then his 44th birthday on December 30.

Soon it will be 2020 and the continuation of the second coming of Tiger, with no one doubting more majors can follow to put him closer to Jack Nicklaus's all-time mark of 18.

There could also be a crack at Olympic gold in Tokyo.

But first he can be forgiven for putting his feet up. "I am now retired for the year," laughed Woods, before heading off to join the US team's celebrations.

source: philstar.com

Westpac CEO resigns amid money-laundering scandal

SYDNEY, Australia — Australian banking giant Westpac said Tuesday its beleaguered CEO Brian Hartzer was stepping down after regulators accused the bank of wholesale breaches of money laundering rules involving more than US$7 billion.

Westpac is facing a potentially massive fine over claims that it failed to report millions of international fund transfers, including "high-risk transactions" to Southeast Asian nations potentially linked to child exploitation.

"As CEO, I accept that I am ultimately accountable for everything that happens at the bank," Hartzer said in a statement announcing the changes.


"It is clear that we have fallen well short of what the community expects of us, and we expect of ourselves."

Current chief financial officer Peter King will take over the reins until a "global search process" for a permanent replacement is completed.

The axe also fell on company chairman Lindsay Maxsted, who will bring forward his retirement to "the first half of 2020" and long-standing director Ewen Crouch, who will not seek re-election next month.

Australia's financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC said the bank committed 23 million breaches of money laundering and counterterrorism rules, theoretically putting the bank on the hook for up to Aus$483 trillion (US$330 trillion) in fines.

Government treasurer Josh Frydenberg said "there needed to be accountability" because the alleged breaches were "of the most serious nature" but also stressed the importance of the financial sector.


Troubles for the Big Four 

Australia's largest lender, the Commonwealth Bank (CBA), last year faced a theoretical maximum fine of Aus$1 trillion after AUSTRAC found it had failed to report on 53,500 transactions -- a fraction of the alleged breaches by Westpac.

The CBA ended up negotiating an Aus$700 million settlement.

Among the most damaging allegations against Westpac, the regulator accused bank executives of "indifference" to clear evidence that some international transfers were used to fund child exploitation.

AUSTRAC said the bank had been aware of heightened risks associated with frequent small payments destined for Southeast Asia since 2013 and had been "specifically briefed" on the risks with respect to one of its money transfer channels in June 2016.

In a conference call, Maxsted acknowledged the bank may lose customers as a result of the breaches, but urged them to "stick with us" and "understand that we feel so remorseful".

Westpac's share price climbed 1.9 percent in morning trade on the news.

Australia's banking industry, one of the world's most profitable, is facing an array of challenges.

The country's four biggest banks -- CBA, Westpac, National Australia Bank (NAB) and ANZ -- were the target of a royal commission that earlier this year exposed rampant malpractice across the sector.

It found banks had charged fees to dead people and to others for no services at all, used aggressive sales tactics and provided poor advice that led to significant financial upheaval for clients.

All the banks have reported significant hits to profits as they reimburse hundreds of millions of dollars to wronged customers.

source: philstar.com

Emboldened Australia closes on another first at FIBA World Cup

SHANGHAI – With a historic win over the United States, then three victories in a row at the World Cup in China to top the "Group of Death" — Australian basketball is setting new landmarks for itself.

Now the Boomers are eyeing another first, having never gone beyond the quarterfinals in 11 previous World Cup appearances.

"We speak about it a lot: in international basketball, you need the size, you need the beef, there's big men playing this game," said coach Andrej Lemanis after his team beat European heavyweights Lithuania 87-82 in a gritty encounter in Dongguan.

The hard-earned victory on Thursday — the game was tied with just under two minutes left  made it three wins in a row to start their World Cup, a first for the Boomers.

Australia not only survived the "Group of Death" also including Canada and Senegal, they topped it.

Putting the gloss on the evening, defeat for neighbors New Zealand against a Giannis Antetokounmpo-inspired Greece propelled Australia into the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as the best team in Oceania.

Next, San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills and the rest of the Boomers play surprise-package the Dominican Republic on Saturday in the second round.

They will be favorites to triumph over the Dominicans, who have the joint-shortest roster at the 32-team World Cup and were well beaten 90-56 by France on Thursday.

On Monday, with the quarter-finals in sight, Australia will face their toughest task yet in the form of France, who finished third at the 2014 World Cup.

Going for gold

Australia, the Asian champions and 2016 Rio Olympic semi-finalists, have been building up to this.

They are missing a couple of big players in Philadelphia 76er Jonah Bolden and his teammate Ben Simmons.

But their roster still has a slew of NBA standouts and in the lead-up to the competition they ended the USA's run of 78 consecutive wins in major competitions and exhibition games.

The 98-94 victory in Melbourne was the Boomers' first victory against the world and Olympic champions.

But rather than being cowed by increasing expectations, the likes of Mills, the Utah Jazz's Joe Ingles and seasoned veteran Andrew Bogut have flourished.

Phoenix Suns center Aron Baynes roared to the fore against Lithuania with 21 points, 13 rebounds and two assists.

"Phenomenal, right?" Lemanis purred.

Veteran United States coach Gregg Popovich labeled Australia "top contenders" in China in the build-up.

Mills called it "Australia's best-ever team".

And in a refreshing change from coaches who trot out the usual banalities about "one game at a time", Lemanis refuses to talk down his team.

"Our goal — I think like every team here — is to win the gold," he said after the Lithuania victory.

"That's the goal that we set ourselves and as a group we have a great belief that that's something we can achieve.

"Our goal, absolutely, is to win the gold medal," Lemanis repeated for emphasis.

source: philstar.com

Australia stuns Team USA in World Cup tuneup

MANILA, Philippines — Australia scored an emphatic upset over Team USA, 98-94, in their second Pre-FIBA World Cup match on Saturday for the country's first ever win against the Americans in basketball.

Held at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, the Boomers shocked the record 52,079-strong crowd with their inspired play against the defending champions.

San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills led the Australians in the historic win with 30 points, 14 of which were scored in the final quarter.

Fellow NBA player Andrew Bogut chipped in with 16.

The Gregg Popovich-led Team USA was missing many of their NBA superstars who opted to skip the World Cup.

Australia will open their 2019 FIBA World Cup campaign against Canada on September 1.

source: philstar.com

102-year-old great-granny becomes 'oldest' skydiver

SYDNEY, Australia — A 102-year-old great-grandmother is believed to have become the world's oldest skydiver after plunging 14,000 feet (4,300 metres) through the South Australian sky.

Centenarian adrenaline junkie Irene O'Shea said she "felt normal" after a 220 kilometre per hour (140 mph) dive that sent her cheeks flapping wildly.

She completed her first skydive to mark her 100th birthday in 2016, but organisers claimed it was Sunday's successful tandem dive at the age of 102 years and 194 days that earned her a place in the history books.


"It was very clear up there, and the weather was good but it was very cold," said O'Shea, according to Australian media.

O'Shea took the plunge to raise funds for a motor neurone disease charity, after her daughter died from the illness.

source: philstar.com

Justin Bieber impostor meted child sex charges in Australia

SYDNEY | A man posing online as pop superstar Justin Bieber was Thursday charged with more than 900 child sex offences in Australia after enticing young fans to send him explicit images, police said.

The 42-year-old used online platforms including Facebook and Skype to impersonate the chart-topping Canadian singer, with his alleged offenses dating back to 2007.

“Detectives had been investigating a man who allegedly posed as Justin online in order to solicit explicit images from young children,” Queensland state police said in a statement.

“As part of the investigation, a 42-year-old man had earlier been charged with a number of child sex offences including possessing child exploitation material and using a carriage service to groom persons under 16.

“After a thorough examination of the man’s computer, he has been further charged with another 931 child sex offences.”

The charges include rape, indecent treatment of children, making child exploitation material, using a carriage service to procure person under 16, and using a carriage service for child pornography material.

Bieber, who once enjoyed a squeaky clean image but has recently had frequent run-ins with the law, has a legendary army of fans dubbed “Beliebers”.

Detective Inspector Jon Rouse described the breadth of offences as “horrendous” and urged fans to be extra vigilant when using the internet.

“This investigation demonstrates both the vulnerability of children that are utilising social media and communication applications and the global reach and skill that child sex offenders have to groom and seduce victims,” he said.

“The fact that so many children could believe that they were communicating with this particular celebrity highlights the need for a serious rethink about the way that we as a society educate our children about online safety.”

source: interaksyon.com

GOTTA CATCH ‘EM SERVERS | Pokemon Go Australia log-in complaints grow

Growing numbers of Pokemon Go players in Australia, one of three countries where Nintendo Co’s smash-hit mobile game is available, are complaining they’re having trouble logging in, raising concerns the Japanese firm may not be able to roll the game out globally as quickly as planned.

Shares in Nintendo fell nearly 6 percent in Tokyo early on Wednesday after a three-day surge on the successful U.S. launch of the augmented reality game last week added 1.2 trillion yen ($11 billion) to the company’s market value. Based on the 1990s Japanese franchise, the augmented reality game topped Apple Inc’s free app charts.

By 0220 GMT on Wednesday, a total of about 1,300 Pokemon Go users had reported problems accessing the game in Australia over the last two days, according to website aussieoutages.com, which tracks digital service disruptions.

The game has only been released in the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and Nintendo has said launches for other countries including Japan – one of the world’s biggest gaming markets – are due soon.

Both Nintendo and Niantic, which developed the game in tandem with Pokemon Co, declined to comment. Nintendo owns a third of Pokemon Co and has an undisclosed stake in Niantic.

Some gamers in Australia have speculated servers were overloaded because players in the United Kingdom, where the game is not yet available domestically, were trying to log on.

“When Pokemon Go servers experience issues, so do I,” a user with the handle @_emilymcc wrote in a post on the aussieoutages.com website.

The reported disruption adds to a flurry of headaches Nintendo is facing with Pokemon Go.

Security researchers raised concerns about the vulnerability of users’ data after finding that Pokemon Go players signing into the game via a Google account on an Apple operating system device unwittingly gave “full access permission” to Google accounts.

Meanwhile cases of armed robberies and injuries involving Pokemon Go players have also been reported.

source: interaksyon.com

Nurofen to be pulled in Australia over misleading claims

SYDNEY, Australia - Drug giant Reckitt Benckiser was Monday ordered to pull some of its popular Nurofen painkiller brands off shelves in Australia after a court ruled they made misleading claims.

Australia's consumer watchdog took court action in March, disputing Nurofen packaging that products in its Nurofen Specific Pain range were formulated to treat different types of pain, when the active ingredient was identical.

The Federal Court ruled the British-based multinational engaged in misleading conduct with the main ingredient, 342 milligrams of ibuprofen lysine, the same in all the products with none any better at treating one type of pain than others.

It ordered that Nurofen Back Pain, Nurofen Period Pain, Nurofen Migraine Pain, and Nurofen Tension Headache be removed from retail shelves within three months.

Nurofen in Australia could not immediately be reached but in a statement the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said Reckitt Benckiser admitted the illegal conduct and consented to the court orders.

"The ACCC took these proceedings because it was concerned that consumers may have purchased these products in the belief that they specifically treated a certain type of pain, based on the representations on the packaging, when this was not the case," chairman Rod Sims said.

"Truth in advertising and consumer issues in the health and medical sectors are priority areas for the ACCC, to ensure that consumers are given accurate information when making their purchasing decisions."

In Australia, Reckitt Benckiser markets and supplies a range of consumer health and household brands, including Nurofen, Mortein, Clearasil, Finish, Airwick, and Gaviscon.

The court also ordered it to pay the ACCC's costs and publish online and newspaper corrections.

A hearing will be held at a later undisclosed date to decide what fine the company faces.

source: interaksyon.com

Australian state bans schools from showing gay film during class hours

SYDNEY, Australia -- A film about children with same-sex parents has been barred from being shown in public schools throughout Australia's most populous state, despite the documentary makers Thursday insisting students will benefit.

"Gayby Baby," which chronicles four children growing up with gay parents, was due to be shown in high schools in New South Wales as part of the student-led Wear it Purple initiative on Friday, which promotes diversity and inclusiveness.

But after front-page coverage in the Sydney Daily Telegraph this week, state Education Minister Andrew Piccoli pulled the plug, at least in school hours.

"I have directed the Department of Education to ensure the film is not shown during school hours," he said, in a move backed by state Premier Mike Baird.

"I understand the intent of that is to provide an example of tolerance and that's something I absolutely support," Baird told reporters.

"Should it be in class time? No, I don't think so. Should it be optional? Yes, I do think so."

The Telegraph reported some parents were angry their daughters had to watch the film, rated PG, or not recommended for under 15 years, but the documentary's director Maya Newell, a former student at one of the schools due to screen it, said the reaction was overblown.

"We firmly believe our film has positive benefits for all students and we're committed to supporting the schools who are celebrating Wear it Purple Day," she said on Facebook.

"Creating inclusive classroom and valuing family diversity promotes student wellbeing and acceptance of difference.

"There is no place for bullying, homophobia or discrimination in Australian public schools."

The largely crowd-funded film, which had two sold-out screenings at the Sydney Film Festival this year, is due to open in cinemas next week.

Wear it Purple Day founder Katherine Hudson told the Sydney Morning Herald she could understand the film being banned if it showed "grotesque sex scenes or violence."

"But this is a film about families. Even for conservatives, this stuff would be easy to swallow," she said.

Earlier this month, a bill to legalize same-sex marriage was introduced into the Australian parliament.

But it is doomed to fail, with Prime Minister Tony Abbott's government opposed to any changes despite growing support for marriage equality.

Same-sex couples can have civil unions or register their relationships in most states across Australia, but the government does not consider them married under national law.

source: interaksyon.com

Johnny Depp’s wife faces charges over bringing dogs Down Under

SYDNEY | Australia’s “war on terrier” with Johnny Depp has taken another turn, with authorities saying Thursday the Hollywood star’s wife faces charges over bringing their two dogs into the country.

The Department of Agriculture, which is responsible for biosecurity, said actress-model Amber Heard was served with a summons on Tuesday to answer charges for allegedly breaching quarantine laws.

“(This) action follows an incident where a biosecurity officer attended a Gold Coast property… and found two dogs alleged to be illegally imported,” a department spokeswoman said.

Reports said the case was due to be heard in September in a Queensland state court, though it is not known whether Heard will appear in person.

Penalties for contravening the Quarantine Act range from fines to a maximum of 10 years in prison for the worst cases.

Terriers Pistol and Boo created a media storm earlier this year when they were discovered in Queensland, where Depp is filming “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales”, seemingly having bypassed the usual conditions for animals brought into Australia.

The dogs’ presence in Australia only came to light when they were taken to a grooming salon.

Dogs are subject to strict controls for biosecurity reasons, with a permit mandatory and a minimum 10-day stay in a quarantine facility on arrival required.

Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce threatened to have the animals put down unless they were removed, warning in May that: “It’s time that Pistol and Boo buggered off back to the United States.”

After the summons against Heard was issued, Joyce said he was unable to comment on matters before a court hearing but the law was the same for everybody.

“You come into our nation, you have to abide (by) biosecurity protocols,” he told reporters on Thursday.

RABIES FEAR

Joyce said a rabies outbreak, a major fear from dog importation, would have widespread ramifications.

“It’s not just the people on the streets that would be affected, if that got out into the general wild dog population in Australia, which is massive, it would have devastating effects,” he said.

“It’s also a pathogen that could make its way into the bat population, and how many towns do you know that have a bat colony smack bang, unfortunately, in the middle of town? We’ve got enough problems with them, let alone if they became rabid.”

Pistol and Boo returned to the United States in the days after their discovery in late May. Speaking to Australian media later, Heard indicated an unwillingness to return to the country.

“I have a feeling we are going to avoid the land Down Under from now on just as much as we can thanks to certain politicians there,” she told Australia’s Channel Seven in an apparent reference to Joyce.

“I guess everyone tries to go for their 15 minutes (of fame), including some government officials.”

Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton said Thursday the law should apply equally to passengers on commercial flights and private jets.

“Regardless of whether people are coming in by Qantas flight or coming on a private jet, they should be subject to the same clearance arrangements and that is the way in which the law is written,” he told Sydney radio station 2GB.

“So, we need to make sure that in practice that is happening as well, and we need to make sure that the proper checks are undertaken.”

Depp has charmed Australians during his stay in Queensland, spending time with fans on location and visiting sick children in hospital dressed as his pirate character Jack Sparrow.

source: interaksyon.com

Microsoft to launch first flagship store outside US in Sydney

SYDNEY, Australia — Microsoft on Tuesday said it will open its first flagship store outside the United States in Sydney, as the technology giant expands its physical footprint to take on global rivals Apple and Samsung.

Microsoft Australia’s managing director Pip Marlow said the shop, to be located in Sydney’s main Pitt Street shopping district, was a “significant development” for the American firm.

“This is a significant development for our business locally as well as globally,” Marlow said in a statement on the company’s website.

“This will be much more than a store. It will embody the world class innovation that you have come to expect from Microsoft and be a space where consumers… can visit and learn how to make the most of their technology.”

A flagship store is commonly seen as a way for firms to showcase their brand’s products and have more recently been adopted by technology companies keen to establish direct contact with their customers in large, downtown outlets.

The store will be just several hundred metres from Apple’s flagship shop and a Samsung outlet, and will reportedly take up 581 square metres (6,254 square feet) over two floors.

Marlow did not say when it would open but The Australian Financial Review said it would be in time to capture the busy Christmas shopping period.

The Redmond, Washington-based company announced last year its first flagship store would be on Fifth Avenue in New York.

The firm has 110 physical stores in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico and 17 store-in-store locations in China. Along with the flagship shops, they are a reflection of Microsoft’s push towards a more visible presence.

Apple said in March it has 453 physical stores in 16 countries.

Microsoft is seeking to take on the mobile operating systems space dominated by Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. The Windows operating system for PCs, which was launched in the 1990s, has been a cash cow for Microsoft, but the platform is lagging in mobile.

Microsoft has also launched its own mobile devices such as Surface tablets and Lumia smartphones.

source: interaksyon.com

Australia moves toward joining China-led bank

SYDNEY - Australia said it will sign an agreement to become a prospective founding member of a China-backed infrastructure bank, but continued to express concerns about how the institution is governed.

China and 20 other countries signed a memorandum of understanding last October to establish the Beijing-headquartered US$50 billion Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) bank.

Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia have also announced plans to join, despite skepticism about the AIIB in Washington and Tokyo.

South Korea on Thursday became the latest country with close ties to the US to say it would also seek membership.

"Good progress has been made on the bank's design, governance and transparency over the past few months, but we still have issues that we will address through ongoing consultations," Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Treasurer Joe Hockey and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said in a joint statement.

"Key matters to be resolved before Australia considers joining the AIIB include the bank's board of directors having authority over key investment decisions, and that no one country control the bank."

The government said it would sign a memorandum of understanding which will allow Australia to take part in negotiations as a prospective founding member to set up the bank.

The ministers added that the AIIB "has the potential to play a valuable role in addressing infrastructure needs and boosting economic growth in the region with potential benefits for Australia."

The new multinational lender is seen as a threat to the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, two institutions under strong US influence.

Washington has voiced concern about whether the bank would meet international governance, environmental and social standards.

source: interaksyon.com

Manager of Sydney Cafe dies as hero in hostage siege

SYDNEY -- The manager of the Sydney cafe who was fatally shot in the siege was being praised as a hero on Tuesday for allowing others trapped in the cafe to escape.

Three people were killed, including the hostage taker, in the 17-hour siege which involved a lone gunman and 17 hostages and began on Monday morning.

Tori Johnson, 34, was wrestling a gun from hostage taker Man Haron Monis when he was killed, according to the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC).

According to reports from the hostages, it is understood the cafe manager decided to take action when Monis started to fall asleep at 2 a.m. on Tuesday after the siege had been ongoing for 17 hours.

Johnson lunged at the gunman's weapon, enabling others to flee.

The second hostage killed has been identified as mother-of- three Katrina Dawson, 38. Dawson was killed trying to defend her pregnant friend, the Australian Associated Press reports.

Media refused to be used

Various media have reported that Monis forced the hostages to call them to present his demands. All the media did not cooperate and did not relay these messages.

Before the police raided the cafe at around 2 a.m., a group of hostages ran out of the building. At that point police stormed the cafe using stun grenades and firing rifles.

The 50-year-old Monis, an Iranian refugee and self-styled sheikh on bail for an accessory to murder charge, was pronounced dead at hospital.

Four hostages were injured including two women, who have been taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, another woman who suffered a gunshot wound to her shoulder and a police officer who was treated for a gunshot wound to the face.

Addressing the media on Tuesday morning, New South Wales (NSW) Commissioner Andrew Scipione said police were still trying to find out the exact details of siege. "We need to actually find out what's happened here and what's happened inside that cafe," he said.

Tribute to the hostages

NSW Premier Mike Baird has also addressed media, paying tribute to the families of the deceased and hostages, and rallying the people of NSW to "come together like never before."

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has released a statement this morning following briefings with the NSW premier and police commissioner.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the two deceased hostages, the wounded, and the other hostages," he said.

"I commend the courage and the professionalism of the New South Wales Police and other emergency services."

Abbott will travel to Sydney on Tuesday to be further briefed by NSW police and other security agencies.

The authorities have commenced an extensive investigation and cleared for risk of explosives.

Throughout Tuesday morning, the public have been laying flowers near the cafe in Martin Place.

Police have been reluctant to reveal details of what prompted them to storm the building, but it has been reported hostages took the opportunity to escape as their captor began to doze off.

Scipione said police had no choice but to enter the building, after hearing gunshots and feared hostages had been hit.

"They made the call because they believed at that time if they didn't enter it would have been many more lives lost," Scipione said.

Monis was also charged this year with indecent and sexual assault of women in 2002. He was hit with an additional 40 charges in October.

Monis, who was originally from Iran and lived in southwest Sydney, had previously sent offensive letters to the families of dead Australian soldiers, calling them "murderers," the Daily Telegraph said.

source: interaksyon.com

Australia to introduce tougher anti-terror laws

SYDNEY -- The Australian government will introduce tough new legislation in parliament next week to tackle terrorism, reports said Saturday, in the aftermath of the biggest crackdown in the country's history.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott will seek sweeping counter-terror powers when the proposals go before the house on Wednesday, NewsCorp Australia reported.

Thursday's unprecedented raids in Sydney and Brisbane had foiled a plot by Islamic State jihadists to carry out gruesome "demonstration executions" which could have taken place within days, Abbott said.

Security has also been stepped up in the capital Canberra, and at military bases, airports and sporting events after parliament and government officials had been mentioned as potential targets in "chatter" between extremist networks in the Middle East and Australia.

Fifteen people were arrested when hundreds of police officers raided dozens of homes in Sydney and Brisbane on Thursday, but only one person remained in custody on Saturday, officials said.

Omarjan Azari, 22, was charged with planning a terrorist act that prosecutors said was intended to "shock, horrify and terrify" the community and involved the "random selection of persons to rather gruesomely execute" on camera.

Federal police had for the first time used preventive detention orders to hold three of the 15 without charge, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. The men were released Friday.

The orders are designed to counter an imminent threat of attack and can be used to hold people for up to 14 days.

But Abbott says current legislation is inadequate to fight the threats to Australia from groups such as Islamic State, which he has described as the nation's greatest national security challenge.

Under the new powers, advocating a terrorist act will become illegal, The Weekend Australian said.

The new offence will carry a maximum five-year jail sentence and make it illegal for an individual to intentionally counsel, promote, encourage or urge a terrorist act, the newspaper said.

Police will also be given powers to secretly search the homes of suspects.

The government will further seek powers to proscribe visits to cities or regions where terror groups are active. People travelling to such areas without a valid reason could face prosecution.

"There's legislation that will shortly come before the Parliament to boost the range of offences," Abbott said Thursday without providing details.

"It's not always easy to prove that someone has been engaged in terrorist activity overseas.

"It's often very hard to get witnesses ... so we'll be strengthening offences in this area," he said.

The government believes up to 60 Australians are fighting alongside IS jihadists, while another 100 are actively working to support the movement at home.

Canberra has committed 600 troops and aircraft to the US-led coalition gearing up to destroy the IS organization in Iraq.

source: interaksyon.com

Underwater MH370 search resumes

SYDNEY - A mini-sub searching for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 recommenced its operations on Thursday after technical problems, as it enters its final week of scouring the Indian Ocean seabed for signs of the aircraft.

Australia is leading the search for the plane which vanished on March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people onboard, and is using the Bluefin-21 mini-sub until new equipment can be obtained.

"The autonomous underwater vehicle, Bluefin-21, was deployed from the vessel around 2:00 am this morning. It remains underwater on its search mission," the Joint Agency Coordination Centre said.

The US Navy Bluefin-21, which can plunge to a depth of some 4,500 meters (15,000 feet), was brought back to shore last week to fix technical issues that saw it pulled from the water.

It resumed its search in the remote area of several transmissions believed to have come from the missing aircraft's black box recorders.

"Over the next week, Bluefin-21 will search the remaining areas in the vicinity of the acoustic signals detected in early April by the towed pinger locator... that are within its depth operating limits," JACC said.

"This continues the process that will ultimately enable the search team to discount or confirm the area of the acoustic signals as the final resting place of MH370."

The Australian ship which deployed the Bluefin-21, Ocean Shield, is expected to leave the search area on May 28 and return to Perth on May 31 to demobilise the mini-sub.

MH370 is believed to have crashed into the southern Indian Ocean but despite a massive air and sea and underwater search, no sign of any wreckage has yet been found.

While the aerial and sea surface searches have been scaled down, the operation is moving to the next phase which will involve using sophisticated equipment to scan the unmapped ocean bed.

Negotiations are underway to engage contractors to do this work.

JACC said Chinese survey ship Zhu Kezhen left the west Australian port of Fremantle Wednesday to start mapping areas of the ocean floor in preparation for the commercially contracted deep ocean search.

Another Chinese ship Haixun 01 was Thursday to depart for the area to support this operation, tasked with delivering survey data to Fremantle weekly for processing by Australian officials.

JACC said work was continuing to review and analyse all the data and information relating to the likely flight path of MH370.

"This work will confirm the best areas on which to focus an effective future search," it said.

source: interaksyon.com

Grieving Mick Jagger comforted by daughters in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES | Mick Jagger is being comforted by his daughters in Los Angeles after postponing a Rolling Stones tour following his girlfriend’s suicide in New York, a spokesman said Thursday.

The grieving Stones frontman flew from Australia to California, where one of his daughters lives and two others are staying following L’Wren Scott’s shock death.

It remains unclear when the funeral will be held for the former model turned fashion designer, who was found hanged in her luxury apartment on Monday.



“No information on funeral yet,” Jagger’s spokesman Bernard Doherty told AFP in an email, confirming the 70-year-old was in Los Angeles with his daughters, but giving no further details.

His daughter Karis lives in Los Angeles, while Elizabeth and Georgia May are also staying here, according to media reports.

The Stones postponed their tour of Australia and New Zealand on Tuesday. They were to play a first gig Wednesday in Perth, and vowed to reschedule shows there and in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Auckland.

Jagger has not been seen in public since hearing the tragic news, but in a blog post on his website a day after Scott was found dead he described her as not only his lover but his best friend.

“I am still struggling to understand how my lover and best friend could end her life in this tragic way,” he wrote under a post entitled “L’Wren”, featuring a black and white photo of Scott. “I will never forget her.”

British media said Jagger was so distraught at the loss that he has barely slept and was being monitored by his entourage, including medical professionals as well as his daughters Elizabeth and Georgia May.

source: interaksyon.com