Wednesday 5 August 2020

Things you might have missed in the daily news


Financial Review, 3 August 2020:

Taiwanese lender Yuanta Securities Investment Trust has sold $27 million worth of bonds in Adani's Abbot Point coal terminal in Queensland, joining a rapidly expanding list of Asian and global lenders that have shunned the controversial project.

Yuanta was once the second-biggest investor in one of the project's bond issuances, holding more than 5 per cent of a $US500 million issuance due to expire at the end of 2022….

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According to an ABC News artilce published on 31 July 2020, a senior federal Border Force officer allowed 2,700 people to disembark the Ruby Princess cruise ship mistakenly believing passengers had tested negative to COVID-19, when they had instead tested negative for the common flu. 

Border Force command only realised the mistake more than 30 hours after passengers — including 13 who had been isolated in their cabins with fever — had left the ship.

The Ruby Princess COVID-19 cluster resulted in at least 662 infections and 21 deaths, the single biggest arrival of coronavirus on Australian shores.

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The Market Herald, 23 July 2020:
  • The Chinese navy has confronted Australian warships in the South China Sea en route to a military exercise with Japan and the U.S.
  • Five ships, lead by HMA Canberra, were travelling through disputed waterways when they encountered the Chinese military
  • The Joint Task Force was heading to the Philippine Sea at the time, where it planned to conduct military movements ahead of the biennial RIMPAC conference
  • The exercise aimed to increase interoperability between the Australian, American, and Japnese navies, but came amid increasing tensions between the U.S. and China over territory in the South China Sea
  • Speaking to the encounter, the Department of Defence said all "unplanned interactions with foreign warships throughout the deployment were conducted in a safe and professional manner"….
Next month, all three navies will head to the biannual Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) in Hawaii — the biggest global maritime warfare activity.
However, in 2018, China invitation to RIMPAC was withdrawn based on its 'aggressive' territorial claims in the South China Sea.
It's understood China won't participate in this year's RIMPAC event either.

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The Daily Telegraph, 1 August 2020, p.27:

The crowd pleaser
With world-famous surf breaks, natural springs and coastal charm, Yamba is the beach break you never knew you needed.

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According to recently released Australian Taxation Office data, in the 2017-18 financial year the amount of tax paid in main urban areas went as followed in the NSW Northern Rivers region:
  • Grafton postcode 2460 – 14,500 individuals paid $117.32 million.
  • Kyogle postcode 2474 – 3,336 individuals paid $24.66 million
  • Ballina postcode 2478 – 15,690 individuals paid $186.06 million
  • Lismore postcode 2480 – 24,989 individuals paid $207.96 million
  • Byron Bay postcode 2481 – 9,050 individuals paid $114.50 million
  • Tweed Heads postcode 2485 – 7,709 individuals paid $66.43million
  • Tweed Heads postcode 2486 – 17,127 individuals paid $150.65 million.
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ABC News, 4 August 2020:

A growing group of anti-maskers have been "baiting" and antagonising Victorian police, and in one instance smashed the head of a female officer into concrete until she was concussed, authorities say. 

Police said two female police officers approached a 38-year-old woman, who was not wearing a face covering, in the Frankston area last night. 

After questioning the woman about why she was not wearing one, police allege she pushed one officer and struck the other in the head. "After a confrontation and being assaulted by that woman, those police officers went to ground and there was a scuffle," 

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said. "During that scuffle, this 38-year-old woman smashed the head of the [26-year-old] policewoman several times into a concrete area on the ground." 

Police said the constable was taken to Frankston Hospital with "significant head injuries". 

The woman's alleged assault left the young police officer with a concussion and a missing clump of hair, Police Association of Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt said. 

"The offender had a clump of our member's hair in her hands and said to our member 'what's it like to have your hair in my hands' or words to that effect," he said. "That's just horrible conduct — it's not human-like to be quite honest." 

Police have charged the alleged attacker with nine offences, including two counts of assaulting an emergency worker and one count of recklessly causing injury. 

She had no previous criminal history and was granted bail to appear before the Frankston Magistrates' Court on March 31, 2021.... 

Chief Commissioner Patton said in the past week police had seen a trend of people calling themselves "sovereign citizens" who "don't think the law applies to them". 

"We've seen them at checkpoints baiting police, not providing a name and address," he said. 

"On at least four occasions in the last week, we've had to smash the windows of cars and pull people out to provide details because they weren't adhering to the Chief Health Officer's guidelines, they weren't providing their name and address."

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