Global Pulse

标签： Oceania

大洋洲

  • New blazes in Greece as strong winds hamper firefighting

    New blazes in Greece as strong winds hamper firefighting

    Greece faced another day of escalating wildfire disaster on Friday, as gusty winds reaching 55 miles per hour sparked new blazes across the country, exhausting firefighting teams and forcing emergency evacuation orders for a western Athens suburb. The outbreak marked the fourth consecutive day of widespread fire activity, which has already torn through popular tourist regions, left local residents displaced, and claimed the lives of three firefighters.

    Civil Protection authorities issued an emergency mobile alert ordering partial evacuation of Haidari, a suburban community located roughly seven miles west of central Athens, after a wildfire ignited on a nearby mountain. Fire department officials confirmed they have mobilized a massive response force for the blaze, including 100+ ground firefighters, five helicopters, and four water-bombing aircraft.

    This new fire near the Greek capital is part of a broader national emergency that has hit regions across the country this week, most notably the major tourist island of Crete. There, the blazes have already destroyed thousands of acres of land and left dozens of local business owners ruined. Thrasyvoulos Paterakis, a 69-year-old cafe owner in the Crete resort town of Agia Galini, told reporters his entire business – which supported both his own family and that of his son – was completely destroyed by the flames. “We’re now out on the street,” he said.

    Greek Civil Protection officials classified most of the country’s regions, including the Athens metro area, Crete, multiple Aegean islands, and parts of the Peloponnese, as under “very high” wildfire risk on Friday, the second-highest risk tier. The powerful gusty winds have not only accelerated fire spread but also disrupted ferry travel to many top tourist destinations, complicating both travel and emergency logistics.

    Theodore Giannaros, a senior researcher at the National Observatory of Athens, explained that extreme wind is making the blazes far harder to contain. “The gusts are literally carrying the fire and spreading it in all directions,” he told public broadcaster ERT. “The strong winds are lifting embers that can spark new outbreaks, sometimes far from the main fire front.”

    Two separate new blazes also broke out Friday in Viotia, a coastal region 53 miles northwest of Athens. When seasonal residents refused to comply with an initial evacuation order, coastguard and fire department crews deployed vessels to extract roughly 200 people from the coastal village of Agios Vasileios by sea, moving them to safety at a nearby beach, according to Greece’s national news agency ANA.

    In a piece of good news, firefighters managed to stop an advancing blaze in the eastern Peloponnese before it reached Mycenae, the iconic UNESCO-recognized Bronze Age archaeological site, protecting the historic landmark from damage.

    Satellite data from the European Union’s Copernicus climate monitoring program shows that between Wednesday and Thursday alone, approximately 4,500 hectares (11,120 acres) of land was burned south of the popular Cretan tourist town of Rethymno. Officials added that the combination of strong winds and Crete’s rugged, mountainous terrain continues to slow and hamper firefighting efforts across the island.

    Authorities have already issued a maximum-level fire risk alert for Saturday, covering the greater Athens area, parts of Crete and the Peloponnese, central Greece, and the country’s northeastern border region with Turkey.

    Greece’s unique geography, made up of hundreds of scattered islands, adds an extra layer of complexity to rapid emergency response, but additional firefighting resources have already been dispatched to hard-hit Crete to support frontline crews. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned Thursday that the country is bracing for what lies ahead. After escaping the worst of the heat and fire activity that hit France and Spain earlier this summer, Mitsotakis said Greece is now headed for “difficult days.”

    Like the rest of the Mediterranean basin, Greece is on the frontlines of the climate crisis, which has increased the frequency and severity of heat waves, drought, and summer wildfire activity across the region.

  • A rumour, a rush: chaos at Morocco border with Spain’s Ceuta

    A rumour, a rush: chaos at Morocco border with Spain’s Ceuta

    A false social rumor of an open border between Morocco and Spain has triggered a deadly mass migration rush into the North African Spanish enclave of Ceuta, leaving at least 18 to 34 people dead and igniting a diplomatic and political crisis across Europe. The chaos unfolded after thousands of hopeful migrants, desperate for better economic opportunities in Europe, flocked to the border crossing near the Moroccan town of Fnideq, spurred by unconfirmed reports that frontier controls had been temporarily lifted.

    Among those who joined the rush was Fatima Zahra, a migrant working in Tangier who told Agence France-Presse she left her job under poor working conditions to try her luck in Europe. “I woke up in the morning and heard that Ceuta had opened,” Zahra explained. “At that point, I told the people with me let’s go there for work… let’s try our luck too.” Like many others, Zahra was ultimately turned away before entering the enclave.

    Ceuta, a 18.5-square-kilometer Spanish autonomous territory located on North Africa’s northern coast, and the nearby similar enclave Melilla, host the only land borders between the European Union and the African continent. By the end of the incident, Ceuta’s regional president confirmed that roughly 60,000 migrants had successfully crossed into the tiny territory, which has a total native population of just 80,000 residents.

    AFP visual coverage captured dramatic scenes of chaos: migrants swimming around Ceuta’s fortified frontier fence, clambering over razor-sharp barbed wire to reach European soil, while Moroccan riot police deployed tear gas and water cannons to disperse the surging crowds after border controls collapsed. By the following Friday, the departure point near Fnideq was left in ruin: more than a dozen burned-out cars lined the square, rocks littered the pavement, and officers continued pushing turned-back migrants away from the border.

    Many migrants traveled hundreds of kilometers across Morocco after hearing the rumor. Abdelhakim, one migrant who was turned back, shared that he walked 14 kilometers through mountain terrain to reach the border, fully believing the crossing was open. “Once we got here, we were told to cross by sea. I found myself completely submerged and saw two men die right before my eyes,” he recalled. “That’s when I backed away and remembered that I have two children of my own, and that I couldn’t risk my life.”

    Even amid the danger, many migrants viewed the risk of reaching Europe as worth taking, especially after word spread that some early attempts had succeeded. Karim, another turned-back aspirant, noted that reports of successful crossings pushed more people to join the rush. “Suddenly they heard that the borders were open and that some young people had crossed, so everyone ended up here,” he said.

    Videos and photos of the chaos have already sparked a major political crisis for Spain’s left-wing national government. Madrid has deployed military troops to Ceuta to reinforce border security, while France has moved to implement stricter checks along its own border with Spain. Italy has further called for Spain to be suspended from the Schengen Area, Europe’s open-border free travel zone.

    Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez scheduled an official visit to Ceuta on Friday, marking the largest mass influx into the autonomous city since a similar crisis in May 2021. The images of jubilant new arrivals, many of whom were minors, wearing nothing but swimsuits and flip-flops, cheering and shouting “Bye bye Morocco, hello Spain” have circulated widely across social media, threatening to severely damage diplomatic relations between Madrid and Rabat. Footage from local Spanish broadcaster El Faro even showed young migrants, including a 14-year-old girl, flashing victory signs after successfully crossing into the territory.

    As dawn broke on the day after the rush, Moroccan security forces ramped up their response, with dozens of officers pushing back crowds attempting to exit Morocco. Multiple elderly women were escorted away from the clash sites, while migrants responded to police action by throwing stones and firing projectiles from slingshots, according to on-the-ground reporting from an AFP journalist. Dozens of vehicles, including the informal taxis many migrants used to travel to the border, were destroyed by fire during the unrest.

  • Thousands cross into Spain’s north Africa enclave in new migrant crisis

    Thousands cross into Spain’s north Africa enclave in new migrant crisis

    In an unprecedented sudden influx of migrants that has triggered a new international crisis, roughly 40,000 people have crossed from Morocco into Spain’s North African exclave of Ceuta over recent days, with thousands making the risky journey overnight alone. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez traveled to the border territory on Friday to coordinate the government’s response to what is already one of the most severe border migration crises the country has faced in modern history.

    Ceuta, a tiny 18.5-square-kilometer Spanish territory, and its neighboring exclave Melilla are the only two European territories that share a land border with the African continent. The vast majority of recent arrivals have bypassed the short border barrier by swimming across the adjacent Mediterranean Sea, a dangerous crossing that has already claimed 18 lives, according to a senior Spanish police source who spoke on condition of anonymity. The source confirmed that arrivals continued at a steady pace through the night and were still ongoing early Friday morning.

    AFP correspondents on the ground witnessed men, women and children discarding the makeshift flotation devices and clothing they used for the crossing after emerging onto Ceuta’s shores. As of Friday, hundreds of migrants, most of them young men, remained gathered near the Tarajal border crossing and in residential areas of the enclave, while some had already chosen to return to Morocco, citing overwhelming overcrowding in the territory. Spanish police and civil guard officers have largely refrained from blocking arrivals, instead directing new migrants toward the local reception center.

    The root cause of the sudden surge in migration remains unclear as of Friday, though the incident echoes a similar 2021 crisis when more than 10,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta over two days after Morocco loosened border controls during a diplomatic dispute with Spain. That 2021 rift erupted after Madrid allowed the leader of the Polisario Front, the Sahrawi independence movement fighting Morocco over control of Western Sahara, to receive medical treatment on Spanish soil. The dispute was resolved in 2022 when Spain abandoned its decades-long policy of neutrality on the Western Sahara issue and backed Morocco’s autonomy plan for the region, a move that in turn triggered a major diplomatic rift between Madrid and Algeria, Polisario’s primary backer. Relations between Spain and Algeria have only recently begun to thaw, with Sanchez making the first visit by a Spanish prime minister to the North African country in four years last July.

    Morocco has not yet released an official public statement on the 2024 surge, but an anonymous Moroccan government source confirmed to AFP that senior officials from the two countries have already held discussions about the crisis.

    The sudden influx has already caused significant diplomatic fallout across Europe and beyond. Italy triggered a formal rebuke from Spain Thursday after calling for Madrid to be suspended from the Schengen Area, Europe’s passport-free open border zone. Spanish officials accused Rome of exploiting the humanitarian crisis for domestic political gain, and summoned the Italian ambassador to Madrid to protest the statement. Finland publicly backed Italy’s call on Friday, while French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez announced Thursday night that he had ordered immediate tightening of border checks between France and Spain in response to the crisis. Even in the United States, two senior advisors to former President Donald Trump seized on footage of the Ceuta arrivals to reiterate their hardline anti-immigration policy positions.

    In response to the crisis, the Spanish government has deployed additional military personnel, police officers, specialized divers, surveillance drones and patrol boats to Ceuta to reinforce border security and manage the influx of arrivals. Many new arrivals have expressed optimism about their decision to leave Morocco, with crowds of migrants walking through Ceuta’s streets Thursday shouting “Bye bye Morocco, hello Spain” and thanking Spanish police for their willingness to allow entry.

  • Aussie drivers brace for petrol price hike as fuel excise cut ends Sunday

    Aussie drivers brace for petrol price hike as fuel excise cut ends Sunday

    Australian motorists bracing for sudden steep increases at the petrol pump have been reassured that the end of the temporary 16 cents per litre fuel excise cut will not push up prices overnight. The six-month cost-of-living relief measure is set to officially expire at midnight Sunday, but Energy Minister Chris Bowen says consumers will not feel the full impact for around a week as existing fuel stock already held at service stations was purchased at the lower excise rate.

    The fuel excise cut was first introduced in April as an emergency response to global oil price volatility sparked by the outbreak of conflict between the United States and Iran, which disrupted global supply chains and forced intermittent closures of the Strait of Hormuz – a critical chokepoint for global oil transportation. When first launched, the cut reduced excise payments by 32 cents per litre, bringing the total tax per litre down from 52.6 cents to 20.6 cents. The discount was tapered to 16 cents per litre in July as part of the planned phase-out of the policy.

    Bowen explained that just as the initial excise cut took time to flow through to lower retail prices for consumers, the reversal of the cut will also take time to work through the supply chain. “The excise has already been paid on the fuel stored underground at service stations, and replenishment cycles vary across different operators,” Bowen told reporters on Saturday. “Just as we saw when the cut came into effect, the same gradual adjustment will happen on the way back up.”

    To protect consumers from unfair pricing practices as the excise returns to its original level, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has been granted enhanced monitoring powers to crack down on price gouging. Bowen warned that any retailer found engaging in illegal pricing practices will face substantial penalties, noting that the watchdog is already actively monitoring market trends across the country. “The ACCC is on the beat, they have the powers to act, and they will take action against any operators that break the rules,” he said.

    In addition to the end of the passenger vehicle fuel excise cut, the heavy vehicle road user charge will also return to its standard rate of 32.4 cents per litre from Monday. The charge for liquid fuels such as diesel had been cut to 16.4 cents per litre for the duration of the relief program.

    Treasurer Jim Chalmers has repeatedly emphasized that the excise cut was always intended to be a temporary emergency measure, not a permanent policy change. The government extended the cut at half its original value after the initial six-month period to smooth the transition for consumers, aligning with the original plan to phase out the relief gradually.

    “It was never the government’s intention for this relief to be permanent,” Chalmers said. “We extended it at half the rate because we always planned to taper it off gradually to avoid sudden shock to household budgets.”

    When the conflict first erupted in late February, global oil prices spiked dramatically, pushing Australia’s fuel price index up 32.8% between February and March – from 94.35 to 125.29. The Reserve Bank of Australia identified rising fuel costs as a key driver of national headline inflation, estimating that the full excise cut would reduce overall inflation by 0.5 percentage points. The sharp price rise at the start of the year also pushed down consumer fuel consumption, which fell 7% in April and 10% in May compared to the previous year, as many Australian households cut back on driving to manage costs.

    As of 26 July, the average national retail price of petrol sits at 182.3 cents per litre. Industry analysts expect this average will rise gradually over the coming week as the excise change flows through the supply chain, with the full 16 cent per litre increase hitting consumers by the end of next week for most regions.

  • France, Spain assess scorched terrain as new wildfires threaten other regions

    France, Spain assess scorched terrain as new wildfires threaten other regions

    As a summer of unprecedented wildfire activity sweeps across Southern Europe, firefighting teams from multiple nations are working around the clock to contain out-of-control blazes that have scorhed hundreds of thousands of hectares of land, displaced hundreds of thousands of residents, and claimed multiple lives. On Friday, Greek crews remained on high alert for new fire ignitions amid dangerous conditions, while France and Spain braced for potential new flare-ups even as progress was made containing their most destructive infernos.

    Climate scientists have long warned that rising global temperatures driven by climate change create the perfect dry conditions for more intense, fast-spreading wildfires, and this season’s extreme blazes across the continent have only underscored this growing systemic risk. Parched vegetation across the Mediterranean has turned vast swathes of land into tinder, allowing small ignitions to explode into massive infernos that are far harder for crews to contain.

    In Greece, the largest blaze burning on the popular tourist island of Crete has already destroyed roughly 4,500 hectares of land since Wednesday. While local authorities noted modest improvements in conditions near the town of Rethymno on Friday, a fire department spokesperson confirmed to AFP that the fire has not yet been fully contained, with hundreds of active hotspots still posing a major risk of flare-ups. Smaller blazes are also burning across the Aegean Sea on the islands of Paros, Kalymnos, and Andros, though officials report those situations are under better control. Nearly all of Greece remained on high alert Friday, with the Athens metropolitan area and large parts of the Peloponnese peninsula ranked at “very high” wildfire risk — the second-highest level on the country’s five-tier warning scale.

    France, one of the countries worst hit by this season’s wildfires, received much-needed good news this week. Near the southwestern city of Bordeaux, a massive inferno that blackened 42,000 hectares of land has finally been stabilized after days of spread, thanks to favorable overnight weather conditions. With the fire fully contained within its perimeter, more than half of the 224,000 evacuated residents have been allowed to return to their homes across 12 affected municipalities. Local officials plan to launch coordinated operations to clear underbrush and treat fire perimeters in coastal dune areas to eliminate remaining hotspots. Gironde prefect Sophie Brocas noted that Thursday brought an optimistic shift, with residents beginning to resume normal daily life. However, the fire has already left a devastating mark: at least 200 homes have been destroyed, and two firefighters have died battling the blazes. Ukraine has stepped in to support French response efforts, deploying a team of 70 specialized rescuers and 15 fire vehicles to assist with containment and mop-up operations.

    To the east, Portugal is also grappling with an out-of-control blaze that has been burning in the northern part of the country since Tuesday. Regional civil protection commander Albano Teixeira described Friday’s overnight operations as “intense”, with nearly 800 firefighters deployed to contain the Valpacos fire. The blaze has so far injured at least five people lightly and has consumed more than 6,000 hectares of land.

    Turkey has also seen a surge in new ignitions over the past 48 hours, with hundreds of firefighters battling wind-driven blazes near popular Mediterranean and Aegean tourist regions. In the western province of Balikesir, five people have been injured fighting blazes across three towns. Authorities have evacuated three villages near the coastal town of Ayvalik, located opposite the Greek island of Lesbos, and relocated 720 head of cattle to safer ground. Turkish Agriculture Ministry data shows that at least 169 new wildfires broke out across the country between Wednesday and Friday, though 163 of those have already been brought under control.

    In Spain, officials are cautiously easing emergency measures but remain on high alert amid an ongoing second heatwave that threatens to reignite contained blazes. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez lifted the state of emergency for a major wildfire west of Madrid on Thursday, after officials confirmed all active fire fronts had been extinguished. More than 60,000 residents were evacuated at the height of that blaze, and most have now been allowed to return to their homes. However, the country is also grappling with a historic blaze in the neighboring Avila region, which has burned 50,000 hectares of land since it ignited last week — making it the largest wildfire recorded in Spain since national record-keeping began in 1961. Officials warned that the new heatwave moving across the country could reignite smoldering hotspots in the Madrid region, forcing residents to remain prepared for new evacuation orders.

  • ASX 200 gains for fourth month as miners like BHP ride global AI wave

    ASX 200 gains for fourth month as miners like BHP ride global AI wave

    The Australian equity market wrapped up a mixed trading session to notch its fourth straight month of gains in July, driven largely by a surge in materials stocks fueled by skyrocketing investor demand for copper—an critical raw material for the global rollout of artificial intelligence infrastructure. While the benchmark ASX 200 only posted a modest 0.1% gain, climbing 9.10 points to close at 8976.80, the performance marked a milestone for the local index that aligns with July’s historic reputation as one of the strongest calendar months for Australian equities. The broader All Ordinaries followed a similar trajectory, rising 14.30 points (0.16%) to settle at 9137.00, and the Australian dollar edged up to 70.32 U.S. cents by market close.

    Of the 11 major sectors tracked on the ASX, only five finished the trading day in positive territory. The standout growth came from the materials sector, which has increasingly acted as a domestic proxy for the global AI trade. Mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto led the rally, with BHP shares climbing 1.96% to $60.31 and Rio Tinto jumping 1.28% to $170.57, as copper prices climbed on growing investor recognition of copper’s non-substitutable role in manufacturing AI data center hardware, power infrastructure, and semiconductor equipment.

    Joseph Marassa, a strategist at Global X ETFs, explained that the local materials rally came on the heels of an overnight rally on the U.S. Nasdaq and a broad resurgence in investor optimism around AI development. “Materials continue to act as a local proxy for the AI trade, with investors seeking copper exposure – a key input to the AI build out – on the back of the overnight Nasdaq rally and renewed AI sentiment,” Marassa noted. Global tech markets echoed this optimism overnight: South Korea’s KOSPI index surged 17.91% led by major chip manufacturers SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, while the U.S. Nasdaq 100 gained 3.36% to cap off a strong overnight trading session.

    The strong gains in materials were largely offset by downturns in defensive sectors, however. Healthcare stocks led the declines, with vaccine and biotech giant CSL dropping 3.81% to $123.06, Sigma Healthcare sliding 0.68% to $2.94, and medical device maker ResMed falling 1.52% to $29.79. Consumer staples also faced broad pressure, with major domestic supermarket chains both closing in the red: Woolworths dropped 1.73% to $39.77, while Coles slipped 0.70% to $24.09. Dairy producer A2 Milk also underperformed, dragging down 2.55% to $6.89.

    Despite the muted daily gain, market analysts highlighted that the ASX 200’s July performance delivered a solid 2.37% monthly return, not far off the 2.73% average July gain recorded over the past 10 years, reinforcing the month’s long-held reputation as the strongest for Australian equities. IG senior Market Analyst Tony Sycamore noted that the four-month winning streak has been supported by a combination of domestic macroeconomic factors and global sentiment shifts. “The ASX200’s gains this week have been supported by the cooler Australian inflation report for June and a more measured tone from the RBA Governor on Tuesday, which reinforced expectations the cash rate will remain at 4.35 per cent next month,” Sycamore explained, adding that “Solid trading updates from two of the major miners added further support.”

    In individual company news, several firms posted strong gains on positive corporate updates. Medical technology firm 4D Medical saw its shares jump 13.08% to $3.63 after releasing its quarterly activity report, which showed operating revenue hit $7.2 million, a 23% year-on-year increase. Energy giant Origin Energy added 0.94% to $10.76 after reporting that its June quarter revenue rose 6% from the prior quarter to $1.96 billion. The biggest single-day gain went to Energy One, whose shares rocketed 31.80% to $14.30 after the company revealed it had received an unsolicited, indicative, conditional acquisition proposal from Norwegian energy technology firm Volue AS.

  • Gina Rinehart launches legal action against ABC over ‘sausage roll’ segment

    Gina Rinehart launches legal action against ABC over ‘sausage roll’ segment

    One of Australia’s most high-profile and wealthy figures has initiated formal legal proceedings against the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), the country’s national public broadcaster, after a prime-time program aired a four-minute clip containing explicit violent rhetoric targeting her. Gina Rinehart, Australia’s richest individual and executive chairman of mining giant Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd, confirmed the legal assault this week over the controversial segment that aired as part of ABC’s *Race Around The World* competition series three weeks prior.

    The segment, created by competition contestant Kate McGuinness, closed with a disturbing voiceover that called for graphic physical violence against Rinehart: “When the revolution comes, will you hide under the bed or will you know exactly how to shove a stick right up Gina Rinehart’s butthole, stirring it round, mixing her guts up nice and smooth, to make one big sausage roll to make something out of nothing.”

    A week before launching full legal action, Hancock Prospecting submitted a formal request to the ABC board, demanding the segment be immediately removed from all ABC digital and broadcast platforms, that the broadcaster issue a public apology for the harmful content, and that an internal inquiry be launched to examine how the violent segment cleared editorial review to air. In a formal statement announcing the legal action, Hancock Prospecting slammed the ABC’s inaction in the seven days following the initial request.

    “One week later, the ABC’s board and senior management have provided no substantive public response, nor any substantive response to Hancock or Mrs Rinehart, and have taken no steps to remove the material from ABC platforms, despite widespread public condemnation and the serious risks its publication and continued publication pose to Mrs Rinehart,” the statement read. The company has now named the ABC’s top leadership—chair Kim Williams AM, deputy chair Lisa Caffery, and managing director Hugh Marks—in the formal legal notice, outlining detailed allegations of serious breaches of multiple Australian criminal and civil laws stemming from the original broadcast and the ABC’s decision to keep the content online.

    Initially, the ABC defended the segment as “editorially justifiable” consistent with the network’s editorial independence guidelines. But facing growing public and political pressure, the broadcaster has since referred the entire matter to its internal independent Ombudsman, an oversight body that reports directly to the ABC Board.

    On Thursday afternoon, McGuinness issued a public apology through the ABC, insisting she never intended to incite violence against Rinehart, and framing the graphic language as over-the-top satirical farce. “The sense of humour featured in each of my films on the Race Around The World program is farcical,” McGuinness said. “In no way was it my intention to promote violence. My writing is cartoonish and always satirical. Unfortunately, jokes do not land with everyone. Its purpose was never to be taken literally. I apologise to anyone I’ve offended.” The ABC confirmed it supported McGuinness’ apology.

    Federal Communications Minister Anika Wells became the highest-ranking government official to weigh in on the controversy Wednesday, labeling the segment “unacceptable.” “Like any Australian, there’s stuff I see on TV that I don’t agree with,” she said. “As the Minister for Communications, I respect the editorial independence of the ABC, but I understand they have now referred it to the Ombudsman. I think that was the right thing to do.”

    The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), the country’s media regulatory board, announced it would hold off on any independent action pending the outcome of the ABC Ombudsman’s investigation, in line with its co-regulatory obligations. The legal process is now unfolding as questions mount over editorial standards at the public broadcaster and the line between free political satire and incitement to violence against private individuals.

  • Geelong Cats confirm shock exit of star forward Tyson Stengle

    Geelong Cats confirm shock exit of star forward Tyson Stengle

    After weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiations, AFL club Geelong Cats and premiership-winning small forward Tyson Stengle have officially confirmed their mutual separation, bringing a dramatic, weeks-long contract saga to a close. The 2022 premiership winner and All-Australian selection, who had not featured for the Cats at all during the 2025 season, broke his silence in a joint statement released with the club on Friday afternoon.

    The controversy surrounding Stengle first emerged in April, when Australian broadcaster Channel 7 first reported the forward had stepped out of the public eye and cut off contact with most people connected to the club. Stengle had previously been granted an extended Christmas break on personal grounds, and returned to club training shortly after the break concluded. However, senior football journalist Caroline Wilson later revealed that the 2022 premiership star had severed ties across multiple circles linked to him: he cut off contact with his entire management team, which included Anna Betts, wife of AFL legend Eddie Betts, ended communication with local Indigenous leaders he had previously worked with, and left only a tiny handful of Geelong club personnel with any ability to reach him.

    At the time of the announcement, Stengle remained contracted to Geelong through to the end of 2029, with an estimated $2.1 million still outstanding on the remaining three years of his contract. The mutual termination of this deal closes one of the most unusual and high-profile off-field sagas of the current AFL season.

    In his first public comment since stepping out of view, Stengle expressed gratitude for the support he received during his tenure at the club. “Thank you so much to the Geelong Footy Club. In particular, to my teammates, the coaching staff, the support staff and most importantly to the fans,” Stengle said. “Your unwavering and loyal support through the great times and the tough times has meant more to me than you will ever know. I am deeply grateful and look forward to supporting the club as a fan.”

    Geelong’s executive general manager Andrew Mackie said the club had concluded that a mutual separation was the best outcome for both Stengle and the club moving forward. “We would like to congratulate Tyson on what he has achieved over his career, including his time at Geelong,” Mackie said. “To play over 100 games, earn All Australian selection and be part of a premiership team are achievements we are proud to have shared with him. We thank Tyson for his contribution to the Cats and celebrate what he has achieved in his football career.”

  • Australian company behind Logan Paul’s Prime drink ceases trading amid $8m debt

    Australian company behind Logan Paul’s Prime drink ceases trading amid $8m debt

    The Australian subsidiary of the firm behind one of the most hyped influencer-led energy drinks of recent years has entered administration, leaving more than $8 million in outstanding debts and no clear path to a rescue buyout, new corporate filings confirm.

    Congo Brands Australia, the Melbourne-based license holder for Logan Paul and KSI’s viral Prime energy drink and Mr Beast’s Lunchily snack brand, has already terminated all of its employees amid the liquidation process, administrator Alice Ruhe of The Ruhe Group confirmed during the company’s first creditors meeting held July 17.

    Documents filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) lay bare the firm’s steep financial decline, which accelerated far beyond the worrying results disclosed in its last 2023 annual filing. The bulk of the outstanding debts are owed to related international entities: parent company Congo LLC is owed $8.85 million, while international arms of the brand including Congo Brands Korea, Japan and Switzerland are owed $361,900, $39,987, and $854,327 respectively. Third-party vendors that handled logistics, manufacturing and packaging for the brand are also out of pocket, with claims totaling more than half a million dollars from firms including BR International Logistics, Refresco Australia and CCL Label.

    Against its more than $8 million in total liabilities, the company holds just $12,000 in cash reserves, alongside $400,000 in remaining inventory and $265,000 in outstanding trade receivables, according to administrator filings.

    The collapse caps a dramatic two-year fall from grace for the Prime brand in Australia, which exploded into mainstream popularity after its 2022 launch, driven by massive social media hype from co-founders Logan Paul and KSI, two of the world’s biggest digital content creators. At the height of its popularity, the drink developed a cult following among Australian schoolchildren, with resold bottles sometimes fetching as much as $30 per can amid widespread retail shortages.

    Financial filings show the brand’s domestic sales have plummeted since that peak. In the 2023 financial year, revenue halved from $31 million the previous year to just $14.5 million, with the firm posting a net loss of $1.42 million for the 2024 fiscal year. Over the 12-month period between 2023 and 2024, the company wrote down $4.57 million in unsold inventory, cutting its total stock holdings from $28.9 million to just $1.7 million. By the end of the last reporting period, the firm held only $84,855 in cash reserves against $7.92 million in already accumulated debts, setting the stage for its eventual collapse.

  • McLaren boss backs Oscar Piastri amid underwhelming start to F1 season

    McLaren boss backs Oscar Piastri amid underwhelming start to F1 season

    It has been a dramatic 12-month reversal of fortune for Australian Formula One driver Oscar Piastri: from leading the world championship a year ago to sitting 7th in the standings as the 2026 season hits its summer break. But McLaren team principal Andrea Stella insists the 25-year-old’s current struggles are just a temporary adjustment period, not a sign of a lasting slump.

    Piastri’s tough start to the 2026 campaign hit a new low at last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, a race that started with immense promise. The Melbourne-native surged up to third place on the opening lap and was firmly in contention for a race victory before a collision with backmarker Carlos Sainz, who was driving for Williams at the time, as Piastri attempted to complete an overtake to lap the slower car. Still on track to claim a podium finish after the incident, a late gearbox failure forced Piastri to retire his car early, cutting what could have been a strong result short.

    Heading into the August off-season, Piastri has only secured two podium finishes across the first 12 races of 2026, totaling just 92 championship points. That puts him 17 points adrift of sixth-placed Max Verstappen, a stark contrast to his position this time last year. When the 2025 season entered its summer break, Piastri sat atop the drivers’ standings with six race wins and 284 points, buoyed by a dominant McLaren car package that gave him a clear edge over the competition.

    The 2026 season brought sweeping new regulatory changes, including a shift to lower-grip car specifications that have required a major adjustment from all drivers on the grid. Speaking to reporters after the Hungarian Grand Prix, Stella explained that Piastri is still working to acclimate to the new car requirements, and he sees clear progress behind the scenes.

    “Oscar is still getting in tune with these 2026 cars, low-grip cars,” Stella said. “There’s an opportunity there to find some pace, and there’s great work happening between Oscar, his engineering team, and the wider team. I think we have seen a great trajectory of development for Lando (Norris), and this is honestly the same with Oscar as well. So, I think we will see a very strong Oscar for the second part of the season.”

    Piastri and teammate Lando Norris are currently completing pre-break testing at Portimao before heading off for their scheduled summer breaks. The Formula One 2026 season will resume on August 23 with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, where fans will get their first look at whether Piastri can deliver on the upturn in form Stella has predicted.