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☆ Culling, Curfews and Caps: Australia ‘Declares War’ on Its Cat Problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Yan Zhuang | More About Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Australia Letter is a weekly newsletter from our Australia bureau. Invasive species are the biggest drivers of biodiversity loss in Australia, a new United Nations report found this week. And feral cats are the most invasive in the country’s landscape, killing an estimated two billion animals per year, according to Australia’s environment minister, Tanya Plibersek. This isn’t exactly new — the Australian government also declared war on feral cats back in 2015 — but the recent proposal contains some new elements. Should local governments have more opportunity to restrict the ownership of cats in their area?’” Ms. Plibersek told local news media yesterday.

Persons: Tanya Plibersek, Plibersek Organizations: United Locations: Australia, United Nations, —

☆ Hundreds Halt Work at Three Energy Plants in Australia
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Yan Zhuang | More About Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Hundreds of people at Chevron’s liquefied natural gas plants in Western Australia halted work on Friday, an industrial action affecting three facilities that account for about 6 percent of the world’s supply of the essential fuel. At 1 p.m. local time, about 500 employees began short work stoppages and bans on some types of work, after union negotiations over pay and working conditions stalled. The stoppages are scheduled to continue until Thursday. At that point, if the impasse remains, the unions will escalate with rolling strikes of up to 24 hours a day, for up to two weeks, according to the Offshore Alliance, a collaboration of two unions representing energy workers. The labor action — at Chevron’s Gorgon and Wheatstone onshore processing plants and its Wheatstone offshore platform — had originally been scheduled to start on Thursday morning, but it was pushed back as Chevron and the unions attempted conciliation facilitated by a government agency.

Organizations: Offshore Alliance, Chevron Locations: Western Australia

☆ After Mass Killing of Trees on a Wealthy Waterfront, a Theory Takes Hold
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Yan Zhuang | More About Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The victims: Banksias, wattles, gum trees, and more. But local residents and authorities all have the same theory: Someone wanted an unobstructed view of the water. In this city, where the shoreline extends inland from the Pacific Ocean for miles in a series of bays, inlets and coves, many a tree has been removed extrajudicially to create a waterfront view and increase the value of a home. But the scale of the culling in Castle Cove, which gained widespread attention last week, was extraordinary. Combined with the assumed affluence and perceived entitlement of the culprit, it has left Australians aghast and outraged.

Persons: Australians aghast Organizations: Australian, Australians Locations: Sydney

It was billed as a modest proposal that would help heal the traumas of history and unite the country. Australia would change its Constitution to recognize the original inhabitants of the land and enshrine an advisory body in Parliament for Aboriginal people, giving them a greater say on issues that affect their lives. But over the past year, the proposal has exposed racial fault lines and become ensnared in a bitter culture war, in a country that has long struggled to reckon with its colonial legacy. And now, public polling suggests, a referendum on the matter — which will be held on Oct. 14 — is likely to fail. That result, according to Thomas Mayo, an Indigenous leader, would mean “Australia officially dismissing our very existence.”

Persons: entrench, Thomas Mayo, ” Locations: Australia

The Osprey is an especially complex aircraft with a troubled history. With two rotor blades above extended wings, it takes off like a helicopter and can fly like a fixed-wing aircraft — which means that pilots need expertise in both. Last year, nine Marines were killed in two separate crashes. One Osprey aircraft crashed in June during a training mission near Glamis, Calif., killing five. Another crashed in a valley in Beiarn, Norway, killing all four on board.

Persons: Peter Dean, “, Dean Organizations: Marine Corps, Ospreys, Marines, Osprey, United States Studies, University of Sydney Locations: North Carolina, Glamis, Calif, Beiarn, Norway

☆ Ex-Principal of Australian Girls’ School Sentenced to 15 Years for Abuse
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Yan Zhuang | More About Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The former principal of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish girls’ school in Australia was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in jail for sexually abusing two students more than a decade ago. In April, a jury found the principal, Malka Leifer, guilty of 18 counts of sexual abuse, including rape, and sexual penetration and indecent assault of a 16- or 17-year-old. She was acquitted on nine charges, including rape and indecent assault. The charges, to which Ms. Leifer pleaded not guilty, spanned from 2003 to 2007, when she was principal of the Adass Israel School in Melbourne. Prosecutors said that the sexual abuse, which occurred at the school, on school camping trips and at Ms. Leifer’s house, began when the girls were students and continued when they became student teachers.

Persons: Malka Leifer, Leifer, Leifer’s Organizations: Adass Israel School, Prosecutors Locations: Australia, Melbourne, Israel

☆ Megachurch Founder Acquitted of Hiding Sexual Abuse Committed by His Father
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Yan Zhuang | More About Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Brian Houston, the founder and former leader of the global megachurch Hillsong, was acquitted Thursday in Sydney, Australia, of a charge connected to failing to report his father’s sexual abuse of a child. Mr. Houston had faced one count of concealing a serious indictable offense for another person. Mr. Houston pleaded not guilty and told a court in Sydney that he did not report the assault because the victim did not want it reported. When Mr. Houston learned of his father’s offense, which had occurred in the 1970s, he alerted church leadership but did not report the assault to the police. His father, Frank Houston, who also was a pastor, died in 2004.

Persons: Brian Houston, Houston, Houston’s, Frank Houston, Gareth Christofi Organizations: Hillsong Locations: Sydney, Australia, New South Wales

☆ 98 Arrests in Child Abuse Inquiry That Followed Killing of F.B.I. Agents
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Yan Zhuang | More About Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Nitiana Mann, the F.B.I. legal attaché for Australia, stressed the global nature of the battle against child abuse. At a joint news conference between the two countries’ law enforcement agencies in Australia, Ms. Mann said that the F.B.I. had made 79 arrests in the United States, resulting in 65 indictments and 43 convictions. She added that the bureau had sent information and evidence related to the pedophile ring to law enforcement agencies in scores of countries.

Persons: Nitiana Mann, ”, Mann Locations: Florida, —, United States, Australia

☆ 3 Deaths, and a Host of Questions, After a Family Lunch in Australia
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Yan Zhuang | More About Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

He said the authorities had removed Ms. Patterson’s children from her home as a “precaution.”In video recorded by news outlets at Ms. Patterson’s home on Saturday, she said through tears that she “didn’t do anything” and had loved both couples. “They’re some of the best people I ever met; they never did anything wrong to me,” she said. She described her former mother-in-law, Gail Patterson, one of the guests who died, as “the mother I never had.” The police said Erin Patterson had separated from her husband but had maintained an amicable relationship with him. She did not answer reporters’ questions about what had been served at the lunch or where the mushrooms, if any, had come from. He said they had not determined what Erin Patterson had eaten, but believed that her children had not been served the same dish that the four guests were.

Persons: Patterson’s, “, ”, Gail Patterson, Erin Patterson, Thomas Locations: Korumburra, Melbourne

☆ The most interesting part of China's stimulus announcement was the omission of a key phrase that ignited the 2020 crackdown on the real-estate sector
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

China's property market is a huge part of the economy, but it's now in a deep slump. This measure was introduced in August 2020 to limit the amount of money property developers could borrow. Other Chinese real-estate developers ran into similar issues, and the sector started to default on its bond payments. In the background, there were concerns that China's property crisis could spill over into the broader domestic and global economy. In 2022, China's economy grew 3% — well below its official 5.5% target, intensifying the drag on the property sector.

Persons: it's, Xi Jinping, Xi, Lina Batarags, Evergrande, Bo Zhuang, Loomis Sayles, Zhuang, Shenzhen —, Nomura Organizations: Authorities, Service, Bloomberg, Spain's Caixa Bank, Nikkei, Reuters Locations: Beijing, Wall, Silicon, China, Expectedly, Shenzhen

☆ China's July economic losses from disasters exceed January-June
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

August, when rainfall usually peaks and summer temperatures soar, is set for further economic impact from floods and heatwaves. Rainfall in northeastern provinces could be as much as 50% higher than normal in August, China's national forecaster have warned. In the northern province of Hebei, over 1.2 million people had been evacuated as of Wednesday due to flooding caused by residual rains from Doksuri. China's top economic planner on Friday earmarked an additional 100 million yuan to support post-disaster recovery in Tianjin and Hebei on top of the 100 million yuan announced on Wednesday for Beijing and Hebei. The finance and water resources ministries separately on Friday also offered 450 million yuan to support the overall recovery effort.

Persons: Talim, Ryan Woo, William Mallard Organizations: cnsphoto, REUTERS, Ministry of Emergency Management, Thomson Locations: Beihai, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, BEIJING, Beijing, Hebei, Doksuri, Tianjin

A few years ago, China cracked down on video games. Then, it imposed limits on livestreaming by children. Now China wants them to spend less time on their smartphones. The country’s internet regulator this week proposed regulations that if adopted as written would require smartphones, apps and app stores to build a “minor mode” into their products. The aim is to restrict how long children can spend on their phones and what content they can read or watch.

Persons: ”, Sun Lim Organizations: Singapore Management University Locations: China

HONG KONG/NEW YORK, July 31 (Reuters) - For all the excitement whipped up in China's markets by the Politburo last week, foreign investors say policymakers' words will have to be matched by substantive action to clean up an ailing property sector before confidence recovers. "The question is what resources they will deploy, because China is still very focused on de-leveraging and preventing financial risks." Absolutely, and urgently," said Qi Wang, the chief investment officer (CIO) of MegaTrust Investment (HK), a boutique China fund manager specializing in domestic Chinese A-shares. Mark Dong, general manager of Minority Asset Management, based in Hong Kong, has reduced his exposure to the property sector. The safest bets in the sector, he said, had come down to state-owned companies such as China Resources Land (1109.HK) and Poly Property (0119.HK).

Persons: Tara Hariharan, Qi Wang, Wang, Mark Dong, Bo Zhuang, Loomis, Weng, Rob Hinchliffe, Hinchliffe, Mei Leong, Xie Yu, Georgina Lee, Shen Yiming, Jason Xue, Ankur Banerjee, Tom Westbrook, Vidya Ranganathan, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: HONG KONG, MegaTrust Investment, Asset Management, Loomis Sayles Investments, Eastspring Investments, PineBridge Investments, China Evergrande Group, HK, China Resources, Poly Property, Thomson Locations: HONG, China, Hong Kong, Loomis Sayles Investments Asia, Shanghai, New York, Singapore

BEIJING/TAIPEI, July 28 (Reuters) - Typhoon Doksuri swept into southern China on Friday, unleashing heavy rain and violent gusts of wind that whipped power lines and sparked fires, uprooted trees, and ripped off part of a stadium roof. REUTERS/Eloisa LopezSocial media video showed power lines sparking and bursting into flames as winds thrashed Jinjiang, a city of 2 million, while in Quanzhou trees were uprooted and left in the middle of roads. FERRY OVERTURNSTyphoon Doksuri has already left a wake of death and destruction as it moved from the Philippines across southern Taiwan. In southern Taiwan, the storm toppled trees and cut power to hundreds of thousands of homes. The storm had cut power to more than 278,000 homes across Taiwan and downed hundreds of trees in Kaohsiung.

Persons: Doksuri, Meranti, Zhuang, Aya, Eloisa Lopez, Bernard Orr, Ryan Woo, Yimou Lee, Dominique Patton, Yuhan Lin, Kevin Huang, Ethan Wang, Michael Perry, Neil Fullick Organizations: Sunday, Philippine Coast Guard, REUTERS, Eloisa Lopez Social, Residents, Reuters, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, TAIPEI, China, Fujian, Quanzhou, Anhui, Beijing, Xiamen, Binangonan, Rizal province, Philippines, Jinjiang, Taiwan, Manila, Kaohsiung, Taipei, Shanghai

☆ The Whales Gathered in a Heart Shape. Experts Feared What Would Come Next.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Yan Zhuang | More About Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Even when whales are successfully returned to sea, they will often strand themselves again. By Wednesday, 52 of the whales had died, the authorities said. However, that afternoon, the whales re-stranded themselves further along the beach, the authorities said. The Australia Broadcasting Corporation reported that the whales had again formed a huddle before drifting back to shore. “Veterinarians will continue to assess the re-stranded whales and advise of the most appropriate course of action to ensure the most humane outcome for the whales,” the state’s department of conservation said in a statement.

Persons: Peter Hartley Organizations: The Australia Broadcasting Corporation Locations: Australia’s

☆ Women’s World Cup Begins With Host Nations in Opening Games
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Andrew Das | The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +9 min

He moved through the building site, discharging the firearm as he went. Clearly, with the FIFA World Cup kicking off this evening, there are a lot of eyes on Auckland. Image Members of the Philippines Women’s World Cup team in Auckland on Thursday. New Zealand’s prime minister, Chris Hipkins, said the Women’s World Cup would proceed as planned. Even before then, gun ownership was relatively rare in New Zealand, and gun violence is considered unusual.

Persons: Chris Hipkins, Andrew Coster, Coster, ”, David Rowland, Abbie Parr, ” Mr, Hipkins, cordoning, Saeed Khan, Lise Klaveness, ” Halvor Lea, Maren Mjelde, Jacinda Ardern, Juliet Macur, Andrew Das, Yan Zhuang, Tariq Panja Organizations: Armed Offenders Squad, FIFA, New Zealand Herald, Police, ., Eden, United States, Vietnam, Norway, New Zealand Police, Associated Press, New Zealand, Agence France, Norway women’s Locations: New Zealand, Auckland, Queen, Auckland , New Zealand, Norway, Auckland’s, U.S, Australia, Ireland, Philippines, ”, Norwegian, Christchurch, North, Raurimu, Aramoana, Sydney

☆ Fireworks for All, One Day Only, in Australia’s Last Frontier
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

As fireworks lit up the three-mile stretch of coastline in the capital of Australia’s remote Northern Territory, a swath of grass along the beach went up in flames. A few revelers used tree branches to beat down the blaze; one man poured water on the fire with one hand, clutching a beer in another. But most, having judged that the fire probably would not spread, were content to carry on setting off fireworks and waiting for firefighters to arrive to douse the conflagration, which they did after about 15 minutes. About three feet from the fire, close enough to feel its heat, a couple lit sparklers and danced with their two young children. Welcome to Territory Day in the Northern Territory, the one time and place in mainland Australia where anyone can set off fireworks, no permits needed and no questions asked.

Locations: Northern Territory, Australia

☆ China’s real estate slump predicted to last for years, threatening to spill into the wider region
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty ImagesWeakness in China's real estate sector could be a drag on the economy for years to come and could even impact countries in the wider region, Wall Street banks have warned. "We only assume an 'L-shaped' recovery in the property sector in coming years," they said. watch nowGoldman Sachs economists also noted there are expectations for China's government to introduce more housing stimulus packages to support the sector. If the challenges in the property sector deepen and bring risk aversion in the financial system and affect consumer confidence, this will cause a deeper slowdown in China. watch nowHui said the government's push to cap property prices at a certain level could be missing a big chunk of potential buyers.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Lisheng Wang, Goldman, Tai Hui, Morgan Stanley, Hui, CNBC's, that's Organizations: Future Publishing, Reuters, Market Locations: CHINA, Nanning, South, Guangxi Zhuang, Wall, China, Asia

☆ Citing Doubt, Officials Free Woman Convicted in 4 Children’s Deaths in 2003
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Two decades ago, Kathleen Folbigg was convicted of smothering all four of her young children. But Ms. Folbigg, who was sentenced to 40 years in prison, insisted she was innocent. On Monday, the attorney general of New South Wales, Michael Daley, announced that Ms. Folbigg, 55, had been given a full pardon and released from prison. “What is the difference between today and what has transpired in the past is that new evidence has come to light,” Mr. Daley said. “It is appropriate that we do have the mechanisms to reconsider the source of questions in light of new evidence.”

Persons: Kathleen Folbigg, Folbigg, Michael Daley, Mr, Daley, ” Locations: New South Wales

☆ Australia’s ‘Trial of the Century’ Stains Its Most Decorated Soldier
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The case had been called Australia’s trial of the century. And though it centered on a claim of defamation, it grappled with a more consequential question: Was the country’s most decorated living soldier a war criminal? The judgment was a rare victory for the news media in a country whose notoriously harsh defamation laws have been criticized for favoring accusers. “Australia has a reputation for being very plaintiff friendly,” said David Rolph, a professor of media law at the University of Sydney. “Here we’ve got a comprehensive victory for the newspapers — that’s not something that you see in every defamation case in Australia.”

Persons: Ben Roberts, Smith, Roberts, ”, David Rolph, we’ve Organizations: “, University of Sydney Locations: Australia, Afghanistan, “ Australia

☆ Police in Australia Use Stun Gun on 95-Year-Old Woman
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Australian police are investigating why an experienced officer used a Taser on a 95-year-old woman who had approached him “at a slow pace” while holding a steak knife. The woman, Clare Nowland, who is 5-foot-2 and 95 pounds, uses a walker and has dementia. She was left in critical condition after a senior constable used the weapon on her on Wednesday morning in the care facility where she lives, causing her to fall and hit her head, according to the police. “At the time she was Tasered, she was approaching police — but it is fair to say, at a slow pace,” Peter Cotter, the New South Wales Police assistant commissioner, said at a news conference on Friday. “She had a walking frame, but she had a knife.”The news conference was held after people in the community, rights activists and advocates for those with disabilities expressed outrage, asking whether the officer’s use of force had been necessary.

☆ Can the Zibo barbecue frenzy save China from economic crises?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Zhu Zheng/Xinhua/Getty ImagesSo many tourists flocked into Zibo, now dubbed China’s outdoor barbecue capital, that even the local tourism authorities urged visitors to go elsewhere. A few may, but most won’t.”A shop owner shows off grilled meat during a barbecue festival on April 29, 2023 in Zibo, eastern China. The city Zibo became a tourism hot spot after videos of its barbecue went viral online. China’s economy is navigating a growing array of challenges. The informal trade might reduce unemployment temporarily, and give people feeling poorer a boost, but it “won’t save China’s economy,” Tsang said.

☆ It’s Called Eurovision. So Why Is Australia Part of It?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The Australia Letter is a weekly newsletter from our Australia bureau. Eurovision is usually held in the country that won the previous year, but Liverpool, England, is hosting the competition on behalf of last year’s champion, Ukraine. Voyager has a lot riding on its performance, given this is the last year Australia is guaranteed to compete in Eurovision. While Australia is not the only non-European country to compete in Eurovision — Israel made its debut in 1973 — it is certainly the most distant. Since Australia started participating in 2015, fans and commentators alike have wondered: Why does a country on the other side of the world participate in what is ostensibly a European song contest?

☆ China's May Day holiday spending exceeds pre-pandemic levels for the first time
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN —Holiday spending during China’s Golden Week has surged past pre-pandemic levels for the first time in three years, in a sign the country’s travelers have fully emerged from the depths of Covid-related restrictions and are eager to live large to make up for lost time. Alipay, the country’s biggest digital payment app, reported a 200% increase in online holiday spending from a year earlier. “The fact that domestic tourism spending is now back to 2019 levels suggests that the reopening boost to consumer spending has largely run its course,” said Capital Economics analysts in a Thursday report. “The swift recovery in in-person services has been the major driver of China’s post-Covid recovery this year,” they said. However, “the lackluster property recovery, a global slowdown and rising geopolitical conflict remain major challenges for China’s recovery to be sustained.”

☆ Woman Charged With 9 Murders in Series of Mysterious Deaths in Thailand
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Muktita Suhartono | Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The police in Thailand have arrested a woman in the poisoning death of a friend and charged her with premeditated murder in the deaths of eight other people. After the arrest, the authorities quickly linked the woman, Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn, to six more deaths, and the number grew to 14 after members of the public came forward and claimed that relatives had died soon after meeting her. She has so far been charged in nine of the deaths, but the authorities said they believed she was responsible for all 14 deaths over several years, as well as one attempted poisoning. Ms. Sararat, 36, is the ex-wife of a senior police official, the authorities said. She was found with a bottle of cyanide when she was arrested last week, they added.

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