Tag Archives: oceania

China warns against travelling to US after scholars accosted

China's foreign ministry has issued a warning to citizens travelling to the US, warning of "malicious questioning" at the border.

In particular, travellers were urged to avoid entering through the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

About 20 Chinese scholars with visas flew through the airport recently to attend an academic conference, but China Consular Affairs said in a post on X that the academics were "unreasonably inspected" by Customs and Border Protection personnel and refused entry.

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Since Chinese scholars have been continuously harassed at the airport, the foreign ministry and the embassy urged citizens with plans to visit the US to do so with a mindset of safety and security and to avoid the Seattle airport, the post said.

The foreign ministry also urged travelers from China to become versed with US entry regulations and be prepared.

"If you encounter questioning from US enforcement personnel, you should deal with it calmly and rationally," according to a translation of the tweet.

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The Australian government's Smartraveller advice does not warn against travelling to the US, asking Australians to exercise "normal safety precautions".

"Entry requirements are strict. US authorities have broad powers to decide if you're eligible to enter and may determine that you are inadmissible for any reason under US law," the Smartraveller advice reads.

"Check US entry, registration, transit and exit requirements. Whether you're travelling on a visa or under the Visa Waiver Program, ensure you understand all relevant terms and conditions before attempting to enter the United States."

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Australians travelling to China are advised to "exercise a high degree of caution".

"As previously advised, authorities have detained foreigners on the grounds of 'endangering national security'," the entry reads.

"Australians may be at risk of arbitrary detention, exit bans or harsh enforcement of local laws, including broadly defined National Security Laws."

With Associated Press.

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Trump calls presenter ‘least attractive’, demands she be taken off TV

Donald Trump has mocked the attractiveness of a television presenter and demanded she be taken off the air in an angry Truth Social post.

The president was apparently watching Fox News program The Five when he was angered by co-host Jessica Tarlov.

"I am watching one of the Least Attractive and Talented People on all of Television, Jessica Tarlov," Trump said. 

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Jessica Tarlov is a presenter on Fox News.

"Her voice is so grating and terrible, I had to 'turn her off!'"

"Her Democrat soundbites are FAKE. She makes up 'Poll Numbers,' and nobody challenges her, because she is so boring."

Tarlov describes herself as a "liberal living in a conservative world".

The Five typically has a series of presenters of differing political opinions to discuss issues to the day.

"GET HER OFF THE AIR, SHE IS BAD FOR OUR COUNTRY!" Trump demanded.

He finished his Truth Social post by railing against conservative commentators who have spoken out against him in recent weeks.

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Donald Trump demanded Fox News take Jessica Tarlov off the air.

"I hear Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson, and Candace Owens are dying fast," he said.

"Their numbers are terrible. Nobody believes them anymore."

Trump's attack on Tarlov is not the first time he has commented on the physical attractiveness of female reporters.

In November he called a reporter "piggy" when she asked him a question about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.

"Quiet. Quiet, piggy," he told her.

Trump has been on a posting spree on a flight on Air Force One to Nevada and Arizona.

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Donald Trump's popularity has been declining since the war in Iran began.

He has posted angry messages about the judge who blocked his ballroom being constructed, New York mayor Zohran Mamdani, former counterterrorism official Joe Kent and the entire country of Italy.

"Italy wasn't there for us, we won't be there for them!" he wrote.

He said that he only hired Joe Kent because his wife died.

"While I didn't know him other than our brief Dover encounter, but feeling sorry for him after the two Election losses, I told my people, 'Hire him for the White House. Give him a job, make him feel good, he lost his wife and two Elections,'" Trump said.

"They did so and, while I rarely saw him, I certainly didn't expect disloyalty, but that's what I got."

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Trump said he appointed counterterrorism official because his wife died

Donald Trump has said he appointed a supporter for a top national security position because his wife died.

Joe Kent headed the National Counterterrorism Centre until his resignation last month in protest of the Iran war.

He has since become a vocal critic of Trump's foreign policy agenda.

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Donald Trump has lashed out at Joe Kent, saying he only hired him because his wife died.

This morning Trump posted a lengthy message on Truth Social decrying Kent as "dumb".

He recounted meeting Kent at Dover Air Force Base when the body of his wife was being returned to the United States in 2019.

Shannon Mary Kent had been killed by a suicide bomber in Syria when she was serving as a Navy cryptologic technician.

"Her casket was being brought to Dover, along with the rest, although he married again, quite quickly, in my opinion," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

He pointed out that in the years afterwards, Joe Kent had run for Congress twice and lost.

"While I didn't know him other than our brief Dover encounter, but feeling sorry for him after the two Election losses, I told my people, 'Hire him for the White House. Give him a job, make him feel good, he lost his wife and two Elections,'" Trump said.

"They did so and, while I rarely saw him, I certainly didn't expect disloyalty, but that's what I got."

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Donald Trump's post about Joe Kent.

Trump described Kent as a sleazebag and a leaker.

He finished his message by writing about the low IQs of conservative commentators Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens.

Kent, a former Army Ranger who served eleven combat tours during the war on terror, was a controversial pick over his far-right political positions.

But he has broken away from Trump sharply.

"President Trump is sending more military power to the Middle East as Iran rejects our initial peace offers—setting the escalation trap," Kent wrote on X yesterday.

"If we try to impose a maximalist outcome on Iran (zero enrichment, etc.) this war will undoubtedly escalate—costing American lives, billions more dollars, and ultimately eroding our global standing.

"We must learn from our past and recognise when it is time to cut our losses and walk away. 

"In the end, working to restore order will strengthen America far more than any military action ever could."

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Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, testifies during the House Homeland Security Committee hearing, on December 11, 2025.

Kent had served in the Trump administration as the head of the National Counterterrorism Centre, a government group tasked with merging intelligence from multiple agencies to stop terrorism attacks.

He resigned two weeks after the war with Iran began.

"I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran," he said in his resignation letter.

"Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation.

"It is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby."

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Sea mines: the cheap, deadly Iranian weapon facing US Navy

The armada of US Navy vessels blockading Iranian ports also faces a hazardous mission that can help solve the global fuel crisis: clearing any sea mines the regime has laid.

Iran's navy had about 5000 sea mines before the conflict began, but strikes by the United States and Israel over past weeks has reduced its stocks to about 500. The Pentagon also says Iran has lost all of its mine-laying vessels. 

But experts warn Iran still has the ability to strike back in the Strait of Hormuz against warships, oil tankers and other vessels with what remains of its sea mine arsenal.

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Former Royal Australian Navy mine warfare specialist Andy Perry warned this month the relatively low-cost weapons are hard to detect and equally hazardous to destroy.

They come in various forms: Spiked, such as those used in World War II; Influence mines detonated by the static electricity from passing ships; Magnetic ones that react to changes in the "magnetic signature" of the water; Acoustic mines that react to noises by ships; Pressure mines that explode when water pressure changes.

Perry, writing for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, says mines are an ideal weapon for an outnumbered and outgunned combatant, such as Iran.

"They require little training or specialist support. They are easy to deploy: they can be placed in the water from civilian boats, small craft or submarines.

"And unlike many other naval weapons, they can be laid without direct combat interaction with an adversary, remaining dormant until activated by a passing vessel."

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While the mine clearance abilities of the US Navy and other western navies have improved to advanced levels, it remains a tough and potentially deadly task.

The conventional tactic is for naval ships to sweep an are of the sea for mines.

Once detected, mines moored to the sea floor have their cables cut, then when they float to the surface, or when they're destroyed.

Mines lurking at the bottom of the ocean can be detected by minesweeping ships using acoustic, electrical or magnetic signals before they're eliminated by a controlled explosion.

They can also be detected by sonar on underwater drones or lasers mounted on the drones or even on helicopters and then destroyed safely.

But the ever-present danger makes any mine clearing mission a lengthy one when caution comes first.

The task could be even tougher with reports the Iranian navy doesn't know the exact places around the Strait of Hormuz where it laid their mines.

It means the timeline to clear them can pull out from days to weeks to even months, a duration the global economy can ill afford.

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‘Brisket bandit’ caught on camera nabbing hundreds of dollars of top beef

EXCLUSIVE: A bizarre theft in Perth has been caught on camera, showing a man snatching an armful of premium beef worth hundreds of dollars.

The "brisket bandit" left the Southern River butcher furious and sparked a police investigation.

CCTV shows him tucking into a box of Shapes before the meat heist begins.

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"You can watch old mate just walking through, having a look, eating his crackers," Rump Shakers Southern River butcher John Bain told 9News.

He then jumps the counter and makes off with what Bain said was two briskets weighing about 15 kilograms.

"It just annoys me, he obviously didn't care about being caught I reckon," Bain said.

Bain posted about the theft on social media and was inundated with loyal customers trying to help.

"Smile you piece of shit your (sic) on camera," he wrote this morning.

"Anyone know this low life?

"It's going to be on every chat page I know and the police will have the footage this morning.

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"Hey at least be a smart criminal and not stop in clear view of the camera's (sic)."

Online sleuths have since been able to identify a potential suspect.

CCTV has been handed over to the police, who are investigating.

But in the meantime it's a costly loss the small business has to absorb. 

"The uncontrollable costs are just going through the roof at the moment – not just me, not just butchers, small business in general, and families as well, we're all feeling it," Bain said.

Charges are yet to be laid over the theft but Bain says he'll be beefing up security.

"Mate, go out and earn a dollar. Don't steal from us," he said.

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Uncovered ballots spark third vote count in SA seat won by One Nation

A South Australian One Nation candidate has questioned how new electoral laws impacted the electoral commission after uncounted votes thrust her seat of Narungga into a third vote count.

Chantelle Thomas claimed the Yorke Peninsula seat two weeks ago on a razor-thin margin of just 58 votes.

The March 21 vote was so close that a recount was called in the electorate to ensure there were no errors.

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One Nation SA Narungga candidate Chantelle Thomas.

But South Australia's Electoral Commission (ECSA) today ordered a second recount of the vote after 81 unopened ballot papers were found in the neighbouring district of Stuart.

The unopened batch of votes was collected from the Port Pirie early voting centre on Tuesday, Deputy Premier Kyam Maher said.

The commission said its acting commissioner Leah McLay contacted all candidates to notify them of the third count.

"Following the discovery of votes that have not been counted, I have secured the unopened ballot papers and have ordered a further count for the district of Narungga," McLay said.

"The Commission will support any independent external review into the 2026 State Election and South Australian First Nations Voice to Parliament Election."

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The recount will take place tomorrow, attended by scrutineers and McLay herself.

Thomas slammed news of the recount as "very disappointing for my community in Narungga".

"We're being forced to wait – again – to see who will be Narungga's representative in Parliament," she said.

"Let's be clear: this raises serious questions about the integrity of the South Australian election, whether the electoral commission was fully prepared for it, and how Labor's new electoral laws – passed with Liberal support – impacted on the electoral commission's preparations.

"Like everyone else, I'll have to wait for the count on Friday. Afterwards I'm sure there will be more to say about it."

An independent review into the election has been ordered by the government, Maher said.

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SA Liberal leader Ashton Hurn said uncounted ballots bring into question votes in other seats.

"Elections are incredibly complex things to undertake. There are thousands of employees, hundreds of polling booths and over a million votes to count," Maher said.

"We are now finalising terms of reference and in an addition to that an independent review of how the election was conducted and voters experience."

Narungga was the final lower house seat to be called in the election, granting Pauline Hanson's conservative party its fourth seat in Parliament.

Thomas defeated fellow Yorke Peninsula local and Liberal candidate Tania Stock to claim the seat.

The South Australian Liberal Party was reduced to five seats in the Labor Party's landslide victory on election night.

SA Liberal Party leader Ashton Hurn called the vote count bungle "hugely concerning" and said ECSA has "a lot of explaining to do".

"There's been a string of errors really from the Electoral Commission and I think we need to get to the bottom of how this was able to occur because that will mean into the future we can make sure that it doesn't happen again," she said.

"If a batch of votes can essentially vanish into thin air and then appear four weeks later, it does raise questions about other seats."

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Car swerves along road, trying to shake off woman clinging onto bonnet

Shocking video has emerged of a woman clinging to the bonnet of a moving car during an apparent road rage incident on the Gold Coast.

Natalie Alice Shaw, 22, was pulling into a car park in July when she claimed another woman was driving the wrong way and blocking her vehicle.

Security vision shows Shaw's red car eventually pulling into a drive-thru, where she was confronted by the woman, who tried to open her door.

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The unnamed woman left before marching back through the car park to the drive-thru exit.

"She comes and she's in front of my car and she goes, 'What are you going to do? Hit me?'," Shaw said in a self-filmed video.

"And I was like, 'Well, yeah if you're in my way, I'm gonna get you to move out of my way'."

The woman then jumped onto the bonnet of the car before Shaw proceeded to drive out of the car park and onto Olsen Avenue in Molendinar, a busy main road with a 60km/h speed limit.

"I'm like driving, trying to get her off … like swerving, trying to get her off," Shaw said.

The woman clung to the windscreen wipers, telling Shaw to "slow the f— down" before eventually falling off the side.

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Shaw was charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.

The ordeal was so strange, even Magistrate Sarah Thompson said "in 25 years of practice … I have never seen such bizarre behaviour".

"The behaviour of the complainant was erratic, it was dangerous, it placed you in danger, you also placed her in danger," Thompson said.

"It was a poor decision that you made in the circumstances, being confronted with what anyone objectively would see as a terrifying situation."

Shaw was disqualified from driving for six months.

A rising para-athlete, her dreams of competing at the LA Paralympics in 2028 could be in jeopardy.

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Ebike shop goes up in flames in Byron Bay

An ebike shop in the popular tourist town of Byron Bay has gone up in flames.

The fire is believed to have started about 1pm, with thick black smoke soon billowing from the shop on Byron Street.

Passersby quickly flocked to the scene to film the flames, with witnesses seeing many bikes burning inside.

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Several bikes were seen on fire.

The shop allows people to rent an ebike for a certain period of time.

Firefighters were confronted by challenging conditions as they tried to quell the blaze.

"Crews have reported possible lithium-ion batteries possibly exploding inside," Fire and Rescue NSW Acting Superintendent Andrew Bickle told the ABC.

It is not known if anyone was in the shop when the fire started.

Police told nine.com.au the fire was not believed to be suspicious, and that it may have been ignited by a lithium battery.

Investigations are ongoing.

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