Postcards from a poisoned coast: Vietnam’s people-smuggling heartland
NGHE AN, Vietnam – The countryside in the Vietnamese provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh is dotted with billboards for labour export companies advertising jobs or study overseas. Thousands…
British PM Johnson says whole nation shocked by 39 deaths in truck
GRAYS, England – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has written in a book of condolences for the 39 people found dead in a truck on Oct. 23 that the whole…
Vietnam police take DNA from relatives of suspected truck victims
CAN LOC, Vietnam – Police in Vietnam have taken hair and blood samples to get DNA from relatives of people feared to be among the 39 who died in the…
From bubble tea to disaster: How one Vietnamese dreamer apparently met her fate
HANOI – In Berlin she posed outside a beer garden, a beaming smile upon her face. In Brussels she sipped sugary bubble tea and posed on the steps of the…
Australia to settle more immigrants outside major cities
MELBOURNE – The Australian government says its increasing the number of visas for skilled workers willing to migrate to the country’s regions in a bid to ease pressure on major cities,…
Tourists line up to scale Australia’s Uluru hours ahead of climb ban
YULARA, Australia – Hundreds of tourists have formed long queues to climb Australia‘s Uluru soon after dawn, a day before a permanent ban on the climb takes effect following a decades-long…
Chinese ship leaves Vietnam’s waters after disputed South China Sea surveys
HANOI – A Chinese oil survey vessel that has been embroiled in a tense standoff with Vietnamese vessels in the South China Sea left Vietnamese-controlled waters on Thursday after more than three…
Chinese businessman blames Australia tax probe on politics
MELBOURNE – A prominent Chinese businessman and Australian political donor has dismissed an investigation by Australia’s tax authorities into his assets as politically motivated. Huang Xiangmo, linked in the past…
Australian intelligence agency wants more resources to counter foreign interference
SYDNEY – Australia’s national intelligence agency said in a report published this week that it does not have enough resources to collect intelligence on potential foreign agents and their efforts…
Bulgaria frees Australian convict Palfreeman from detention centre
SOFIA – The Bulgarian government has released Australian Jock Palfreeman, who was convicted of murder in 2009, from an immigration detention centre, more than three weeks after a court granted…
