Tag: Australia

  • VIDEO: 10-foot-long python slides through grocery store racks

    VIDEO: 10-foot-long python slides through grocery store racks

    A grocery store turned into a snake rescue in Australia when a 10-foot-long non-venomous python slid through the racks to greet a woman customer.

    The 25-year-old, Helaina Alati, was at a Sydney store on Monday when the snake slithered out.

    Alati was not expecting a snake at the supermarket. But fortunately for both parties, Alati is a wildlife rescuer and familiar with snakes.

    “I just turned my head and he was about 20cm from my face, just looking straight at me,” she told the BBC.

    She did a double-take but stayed calm. No one else was around. Recognising it instantly as a diamond python, Alati knew it wasn’t poisonous as it protruded and flicked its tongue.

    Read More: ‘Mr Bean called PM Khan’, viral memes make fun of PM office phone calls

    “He was looking straight at me the whole time, almost like he was saying: ‘Can you take me outside please?’” she said.

    After recording a video, Alati alerted staff and told them she could help them get it out.

    She retrieved a snake bag from her home, returned to the store, “tapped him on the tail and he just slithered in”.

    She then released it away from houses in bushland – a natural habitat for the species around Sydney.

  • Australian man escapes quarantine using bedsheets

    Australian man escapes quarantine using bedsheets

    A man in Perth, Australia, escaped mandatory quarantine in a hotel room by using a rope made of tied together bedsheets from a fourth-floor window, reports Reuters.

    He arrived in Perth from Brisbane but was told to leave the state within 48 hours, failing to get a mandatory pass before travel, and was sent to a hotel. However, he fled in the middle of the night but was caught and charged with failure to comply with a direction and providing false information.

    Last week, the Western Australia Police Force shared images on their official Facebook account, showing his escape strategy, and informed that he was arrested later and tested Covid-19 negative.

    As per reports, Travis Jay Myles appeared in the Perth Magistrates Court via an audio link. The report added that he did not apply for bail and will remain in custody until early August when his 14-day quarantine period ends.

    G2G passes registration and declaration prior to entry is mandatory for all travelers in Western Australia. The process will declare where the individual has been in the 14 days before their entry and whether they have any Covid symptoms or not.

    More than half of Australia is in lockdown and restrictions have been imposed to stop the spread of the Delta variant.

    Moreover, the vaccination process is quite slow as only 11 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated. The main cause of this is that Australians under 60 are advised to get the Pfizer vaccine, but supplies are very limited.

  • Jeweller makes necklaces, rings from teeth of dead loved ones

    Jeweller makes necklaces, rings from teeth of dead loved ones

    A jeweller in Australia is using the remains of dead people including teeth and hair to make rings and necklaces for their grieving families. 

    The 29,-year-old Jacqui Williams, owns Grave Metallum Jewellery which sells handcrafted commemorative pieces to help people deal with the loss of loved ones. 

    As per reports, all pieces are created in her Melbourne studio. Williams, who said she had always been drawn to the ‘morbid’ side of life even as a child, shared some of the stranger requests her customers had made. 

    ‘I [was asked to use] an IUD (intrauterine device) in a piece of jewellery which I did decline due to it being plastic, and turning the bullet casing, from the bullet that a client’s grandfather shot himself with into a piece of jewellery,’ Williams said.

    Jacqui Williams

    The jeweller started taking interest in the grieving process when she lost her best friend a few years ago.

    Williams is a strong believer that loss is easier to deal with when shared.

    ‘I do this work because I want to help people deal with their grief and loss as it’s something that is guaranteed for every living thing,’ Williams said. 

    The custom pieces are made in almost eight weeks and prices range from $350(Rs 55,657) to more than $10,000 (Rs 1,590,201).

  • VIDEO: Massive spider webs blanket Australian state

    VIDEO: Massive spider webs blanket Australian state

    A part of Australis’s state of Victoria has been covered with thick layers of cobweb. The area had received heavy rains and flooding last week forcing many residents to leave.  Other locals are still there without power in the state as authorities repair transformers and clear roads.

    A video doing rounds on social media shows an entire area covered in massive spider webs. The spiders create these web sheets as part of a survival tactic known as ‘Ballooning’. In such events, spiders release silk strands to climb to higher ground.

    This is not the first time when the cobwebs have taken over the region after heavy rainfall. A similar incents had occurred after the rains in Gippsland in 2013.

  • ‘Mouse plague’ in Australia: Mice crawl into beds and bite residents

    ‘Mouse plague’ in Australia: Mice crawl into beds and bite residents

    Farmers in Australia are facing several problems due to a severe mice plague in the country. They allegedly have to put the legs of their beds in buckets of water to stop the mice from biting them while they are asleep.

    Millions of mice are running riot in the eastern part of the country and are causing a serious destruction to farms by eating crops and attacking grain silos.

    As per reports, livestock farmers have to scoop hundreds of dead mice they have managed to either drown in buckets or poison.

    Kodi Brady, a farm owner said, “It does play massive impacts on your mental health. I don’t sleep because I’m paranoid, you know, you can hear them in your walls and your roof.”

    Read More – Indian woman takes lover on tour to Australia on husband’s passport

    Brady has been laying bait for mice for the last six months and despite efforts to seal his house, the rodents remain in large number.

    “Your social and emotional wellbeing is shot and you are absolutely buggered,” he said.

    The region has been fighting a mice plague for numerous months after heavy rains in recent years relieved the country’s worst drought in 50 years. The wet weather not only helped produce the country’s largest ever grain crop but also provided plenty food to mice.

    Mice – believed to have arrived in Australia along with the first European settlers – are well suited to the country’s often harsh climate.

    They can survive long periods of dry weather and when the weather turns, they thrive and rapidly reproduce as food and water gets available.

    BBC News interviewed three farmers who spoke about living through the worst mouse plague in memory.

    Warning: This video contains graphic content.

  • ‘Blood on your hands’: Michael Slater slams Australian PM

    ‘Blood on your hands’: Michael Slater slams Australian PM

    Former cricketer Michael Slater, who is currently part of the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) commentary panel, has slammed his country’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison for not allowing its citizens to return from COVID-19 hit India, calling the travel ban a “disgrace”.

    Australia has shut its borders and is not allowing any commercial flights from India because of the massive COVID-19 surge which has left players, support staff and commentators, who might have wanted to leave the IPL in a fix.

    Meanwhile, the Indian government has made it clear that Australians who are engaged in the IPL will have to make their own arrangements.

    “If our government cared for the safety of Aussies they would allow us to get home. It’s a disgrace,” wrote Slater on social media. “Blood on your hands PM. How dare you treat us like this. How about you sort out [a] quarantine system.”

    “I had government permission to work on the IPL but I now have government neglect,” he added.

    The former cricketer further said: “And for those who think this is a money exercise. Well, forget it. This is what I do for a living and I have not made a penny having left early.”

    “So please stop the abuse and think of the thousands dying in India each day. It’s called empathy. If only our government had some,” he remarked.

    Threatening a five-year jail term or a hefty fine, the Australian government temporarily barred its citizens from entering the country if they happened to be in India within 14 days of their intended arrival.

    The decision was announced after a meeting of the National Cabinet last Friday and came into force from Monday.

    The move aims at keeping the COVID-19 spread in check in Australia as India is facing a surge in cases.

    The decision was also based on the proportion of overseas travellers in quarantine in Australia, who have contracted the infection in India, according to Health Minister Greg Hunt.

    Three Australian players left the IPL before the travel ban came into force. The ban is due to end on May 15.

    Meanwhile, as many as 14 Australian players are playing in IPL.

    The competition has also been heavily hit by the virus. Earlier, Monday’s match between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) was suspended after KKR’s Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier tested positive for coronavirus. Three members of the Chennai Super Kings’ IPL contingent – chief executive officer K Viswanathan, bowling coach L Balaji and a bus cleaner – have also tested positive for the virus.

    Furthermore, five Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) ground staff have tested positive. DDCA will be hosting IPL 2021 matches until May 8.

  • Man left with half a house after spending more than Rs10 crore on dream house

    Man left with half a house after spending more than Rs10 crore on dream house

    A man’s desire to own a dream home has turned into a nightmare after the finished building was just half a house due to a ‘mix up’ with the builder. 

    As per details, Bishnu Aryal who hails from Nepal had saved up enough money for his dream house in Sydney. He had shifted to Australia for a new life and spent years in saving cautiously.

    He signed an agreement for the building with Zac Homes for $322,400 (Rs49 million)land purchased land for $398,950 (Rs70 million) in the suburb of Edmondson Park in Sydney’s southwest.

    The man claims that miscommunication with the builder, Zac Homes, resulted his dream to turn into a tragedy.

    The father of two now only has ‘half the property’ he had been hoping for.

    Talking to the local media, Aryal said: “I called the supervisor and asked him what’s going on, why is the house like this? And he said, ‘It’s a duplex, semi duplex’, and I nearly fainted that day.”

    “Where’s my house? I want the rest of my house. It’s not a free-standing house, it’s not a duplex, it’s half a house. And it looks embarrassing,” he added.

    According to reports, the agreement was for a free-standing home but, three years later, Aryal was shocked when he checked the progress and realised that the contractors had built a duplex on half the block, with a huge windowless grey wall made down the middle.

    Aryal admitted that his English isn’t perfect, but asserted that he did not sign up for half a house

  • Shaniera Akram’s emotional note for husband on being apart is relatable

    Shaniera Akram’s emotional note for husband on being apart is relatable

    Shaniera Akram’s emotional note for Wasim Akram on being away for 145 days is highly relatable if you are someone living away from your family, husband or loved ones.

    Sharing a picture of herself and Wasim, Shaniera said: “145 days we have been apart! The longest ever. Although my heart is breaking everyday I have strength and believe that this world will end its suffering soon as there are those who have lost way more than us. InshAllah we have the love that knows no boundaries.”

    “I pray that everyone stays safe, wears a mask and gets vaccinated as soon as possible so that life can continue as normal,” she said further. “I will do my best to be a good mother, citizen and keep my charity and work to help Pakistan as much as I can from here. My prayers to those during this Holy month of Ramadan who are suffering, struggling, in longing or sadly saying goodbye to loved ones.”

    “Missing you Wasim, more than you could imagine. You are our everything,” added Shaniera.

    Read more – Shaniera Akram heartbroken over plastic mess on the beach

    Shaniera, who is originally from Melbourne, Australia, went to her home city in January and due to the coronavirus pandemic, she could not return to Karachi where she lives with her husband and children.

  • Man charged with murder after he wakes from 7-month coma

    Man charged with murder after he wakes from 7-month coma

    A 21-year-old man found himself in a strange situation when he woke up from a seven-month coma, he found homicide detectives around him when he opened his eyes. The detectives were reportedly there to charge him with the murder of his girlfriend.

    As per details, Weijie went into a coma with critical head injuries last June after falling from the fourth floor balcony of his apartment in Wolli Creek, in south Sydney, Australia.

    The next-day when the police visited his house for investigation, they discovered the dead body of his 19-year old girlfriend there.

    It is not yet clear whether he intentionally fell from the apartment but Detective Inspector Robert Alison said “witnesses told us he fell from the fourth floor of a common area, so it was either misadventure or a suicide attempt”.

    “He is very, very lucky to be alive,” added Detective Inspector Alison. “Most people would have not survived.”

    The alleged killer was in a coma for almost seven months.

    He and his girlfriend, hailing from China, had been together for two years and were studying in Australia on student visas. Detective Inspector Alison acknowledged how difficult the incident was for Pan’s family, who were unable to attend her funeral due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

    “It is horrific. I really do feel for the family,” Alison said. “The distance being so far away makes it even more difficult for them. But we are working closely with them.”

    He has been refused bail and is due to face court via video link on Wednesday.

  • 120-year-old chocolate found in poet’s personal belongings

    120-year-old chocolate found in poet’s personal belongings

    A 120-year-old box of chocolate has been found from the personal collection of the late poet and journalist A.B. ‘Banjo’ Paterson by the staff at the National Library of Australia (NLA).

    Conservators at the NLA unearthed the sweet treats in a souvenir chocolate tin that was given to soldiers by Queen Victoria during the Boer War.

    The discovery was made by the library staff while unpacking the contents of the poet who wrote Waltzing Matilda and The Man from Snowy River. The purpose of unpacking the box that has the poet’s papers was to digitize the contents and make them available online.

    According to the National Library of Australia (NLA), the souvenir tin was commissioned by Queen Victoria and sent to South Africa during the Boer War as a gift to troops serving on the front.

    It is believed that the poet had brought the chocolates from a soldier while serving as a war correspondent in South Africa for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age for nearly a year starting in October 1899 before returning to Australia.

    The NLA conservator told that there was quite an interesting smell when they were unpacked.

    Paterson’s papers were passed on by his family after his death in 1941. However, the poet never referenced the chocolate bar in his writing.