PERTH, Australia — A 20-meter-long escape tunnel has been found at an immigration center northeast of Perth, activists say. The tunnel, which was also three meters high, was discovered on May 10 around 10 am at the Yongah Hill detention center in Western Australia. Activists from the Refugee Action Coalition (RAC) say it is unclear what tools were used in the making of the tunnel but it’s believed to have been constructed over a three-month period. The tunnel, around three meters deep and 20 meters long, led from beneath the floor of room 6F in one of the accommodation blocks in…
Author: zenger.news
CANBERRA, Australia — A dishonest and greedy witness who was blackmailing millions of dollars from alleged tax fraudsters caught an investigative journalist “hook, line and sinker” in his plan, a jury has heard. Clive Steirn SC said in his closing argument in defense of veteran reporter Stephen Barrett that he was “hoodwinked” by property developer Daniel Hausman. The 63-year-old journalist was allegedly manipulated with the promise of a sensational scoop about millions owed to the Australian Taxation Office involving then-deputy commissioner of Australian Taxation Office Michael Cranston and his son Adam. Barrett has pleaded not guilty to acting in a joint…
MELBOURNE, Australia — The India travel ban legally could remain in force while government-run repatriation flights operate, an Australian federal judge has been told. Bangalore-based Melbourne man Gary Newman has asked the Federal Court to scrap the federal government’s public health order that outlaws Australian citizens from arriving home from India. Prime Minister Scott Morrison had said publicly the controversial ban will no longer be in effect on May 15 when repatriation flights begin. But it could legally co-exist with government-operated repatriation flights, barrister Christopher Ward SC said. “That may not be what is intended … but it would be a…
CHENNAI, India — Indian food delivery start-up Zomato, which entered the United States market after it acquired Seattle-based restaurant recommendation service Urbanspoon in 2015, has filed for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) to raise INR 8,250 crore ($1.1 billion). Zomato is present in almost all states of the U.S., such as California, Alaska, and Texas, according to its website. The start-up will expand in its core areas like customer acquisition, delivery, and technology infrastructure, according to a draft prospectus filed with Indian markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India. The firm is backed by big-name investors such as Ant Financial, Tiger Global Management, and Sequoia…
DELHI, India — As India continues to struggle with the burgeoning Covid-19 cases, a supply glut of oxygen, and a crumbling healthcare infrastructure, the U.S. is sending its “disease detectives” to help the South Asian nation choke the spread of the virus. A strike team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expected to reach India soon. The team will have officers from CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service. The detectives are known to have cut short the Ebola epidemic in Africa. “The role of the CDC will be mostly related to the epidemiology of the disease, and that data will have some…
SYDNEY — Controversial Victorian Liberal Member of Parliament Bernie Finn is under fire for posting a meme about a Chinese rocket falling on the national broadcaster or his political rivals. Finn asked his Twitter followers: “Where should the Chinese rocket land?”, and suggested The Project host Waleed Aly, the ABC, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe. Remnants of China’s largest rocket, the Long March 5B, crashed into the Indian Ocean on May 9. “For the benefit of humorless left-wing tossers, this is a joke,” Finn posted. But state government lower house leader Jacinta Allan was not seeing the…
GISBORNE, New Zealand — New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern continues to drip feed details of her wedding, revealing she’ll marry partner Clarke Gayford in Gisborne. Last week, Ardern announced she’d finally set a date for the wedding, more than two years after Gayford proposed. Ardern declared on Coast Radio on May 5 that she and Gayford would tie the knot after two and a half years of engagement. She has yet to reveal the actual date, saying she wants guests to get a jump start on accommodation in the small city. Ardern is well known to count international celebrities —…
SYDNEY — Australians want to meet their life partner at 31, get married at 33 and have kids at 34, as per the numbers collected by dating website eharmony. The numbers suggest Aussies see their 20s as a time for adventure and flings, leaving such serious matters as engagement, buying a property and walking down the aisle till the next decade. Nearly half — 45 percent — of the more than 2000 Australians surveyed by eharmony believe marriage is less important than it was for previous generations. Millennials are also in less of a hurry to have kids. The average age…
SYDNEY — Rural doctors have welcomed an AU$65 million ($51 million) boost to bulk billing rebates in the bush. “This is going to be a real game-changer for rural and remote healthcare,” Rural Doctors Association president John Hall said. Doctors will get extra Medicare payments of up to AU$ 12.35 ($9.72) per consultation if their clinic is in a rural or remote area. Importantly, the federal government funding differentiates large regional centers such as Newcastle and Cairns from much smaller towns, such as Orange, Shepparton and Mt Gambier. “We’ve been calling for this change for about 20 years,” Hall says. “This is going…
MELBOURNE, Australia — Cancer-causing firefighting chemicals have been found in the endangered Australian sea lion and fur seal pups, sparking fears the contaminants could decimate populations further. The new research, which is part of a long-term health study of the species in Australia, identified per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in animals at multiple colonies in Victoria and South Australia. Polyfluoroalkyl substances chemicals — wholly or partially banned for firefighting in New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland — have been linked to a slew of health conditions including cancer, reproductive defects and immune deficiencies. Australian sea lion populations have plummeted by…