Canberra, July 30 (IANS) Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged all Australians in Lebanon to leave the country.

He told reporters on Tuesday that the government’s official advice is for Australians to avoid travelling to Lebanon amid the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Xinhua news agency reported.

“The travel advice very clearly is don’t go to Lebanon,” he said.

“People who are there who are Australian citizens should ensure that they take advantage of the commercial flights that are available out of Lebanon at this time, he said.

Australia’s Smartraveller service, which is run by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), on Monday issued a renewed warning against travelling to Lebanon due to the volatile security situation.

It said Australians in Lebanon should leave the country immediately, warning that the security situation could deteriorate rapidly with little or no notice.

Several airlines suspended flights to and from Beirut on Monday local time due to the security situation.

“This is a troubling area. We have been issuing these travel warnings for many months now, and it is important that people are cognisant of those warnings,” Albanese said on Tuesday.

In the 2021 Australian census, over 248,000 Australians reported having Lebanese ancestry, including 87,343 who were born in the Middle Eastern country.

According to the DFAT, approximately 15,000 Australians normally reside in Lebanon.

–IANS

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Changsha, July 30 (IANS) Death toll in the torrential rain in China’s Hunan Province has risen to four, while three people remained missing, local authorities said on Tuesday.

The city of Zixing has received record precipitation since Friday due to the impact of Typhoon Gaemi, with 24-hour rainfall exceeding 645 mm at one spot, said the city’s flood control and drought relief headquarters, Xinhua news agency reported.

The deaths since Monday night were reported from four villages in Zhoumensi Town and Bamianshan Yao Township under the city, according to the headquarters.

The rain has toppled or damaged the dwellings of 867 households in the city and caused 1,345 cases of road cave-ins.

Officials said communications with many villages were unstable, making it difficult for timely updates on the situation.

The city has dispatched more than 5,400 professional rescuers.

A total of 11,379 people have been evacuated for safety concerns.

–IANS

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Hanoi, July 30 (IANS) Five miners were buried after a coal mine collapsed in Ha Long City, Vietnam’s northern province of Quang Ninh, Vietnam News Agency reported.

The incident occurred on Monday night, Xinhua news agency reported.

The miners were working for Hon Gai Coal Company under the Vietnam Coal-Mineral Group.

Identities of all five workers have been identified as the search and rescue efforts finished at 5.28 a.m. on Tuesday.

The case is being further investigated to clarify the cause.

–IANS

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Sydney, July 30 (IANS) Australian police said on Tuesday that reports of human trafficking and slavery reached an all-time high in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, with an annual hike of 12 per cent.

Authorities received 382 reports of modern slavery and human trafficking offences, recording an increase of 12.35 per cent from 340 reports the previous fiscal year, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the latest figures released by the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

Among them, 109 reports were related to human trafficking, with 91 regarding forced marriage. There were also 69 reports of forced labour.

AFP Human Exploitation Commander Helen Schneider noted that the statistics on human trafficking were more than just numbers.

“They represent innocent lives in the community. By raising awareness of the laws in Australia and supporting victims, we can make strides in eradicating this crime,” Schneider said.

“This increase is likely attributed to increased awareness of these crimes in the Australian community,” the commander added.

Tuesday also marked the United Nations (UN) World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, with this year’s theme focusing on “Leave No Child Behind in the Fight Against Human Trafficking.”

Data from the UN suggested that one in three victims of human trafficking globally is a child, and the majority of these trafficked children are girls.

–IANS

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Seoul, July 30 (IANS) The opposition-controlled National Assembly passed the last of four contentious broadcasting bills aimed at reducing the government’s influence over public broadcasters on Tuesday, ending a six-day filibuster by the ruling party.

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) led the bill’s passage in an 189-0 vote after passing a motion to forcefully end a 24-hour filibuster by the ruling People Power Party (PPP). PPP lawmakers left the Assembly chamber to boycott the vote in protest, Yonhap news agency reported.

The revision to the Korea Educational Broadcasting System Act aims to increase the number of board directors at public broadcaster EBS from the current nine to 21.

With Tuesday’s vote, all four broadcasting bills — amendments to the Broadcasting Act, the Foundation for Broadcast Culture Act, the Korea Educational Broadcasting System Act and the establishment of the Korea Communications Commission — passed through the National Assembly.

The four bills are intended to reform the governance structure of the nation’s public broadcast media by weakening the government and the National Assembly’s power to name board directors.

Since Thursday, the PPP has been staging back-to-back filibusters to block the passage of the bills.

The PPP has claimed that the broadcasting bills will only increase the presence of progressive figures on the boards of public broadcasters, while the DP has said they will prevent political influence in the appointment of the heads of public broadcasters.

Last year, President Yoon Suk Yeol vetoed the three broadcasting bills, excluding the revision to the act on the establishment of the Korea Communications Commission, after they were passed by the opposition-controlled parliament.

The PPP is expected to call on Yoon to exercise his veto rights again over the four broadcasting bills.

–IANS

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