Global Pulse

标签： Oceania

大洋洲

  • Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon drops to lowest level since 2019

    Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon drops to lowest level since 2019

    A landmark new report from Brazilian environmental monitoring network MapBiomas has confirmed that deforestation across Brazil’s Amazon rainforest dropped to its lowest annual level in 2025 since consistent recording began in 2019, delivering a key environmental win for the administration of leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ahead of national elections this October.

    MapBiomas, a collaborative consortium of leading Brazilian universities, non-profit environmental organizations, and technology firms, released its findings Wednesday. Data shows Brazil lost 985,000 hectares (approximately 2.4 million acres) of native vegetation across all its biomes in 2025, marking a 20.6% decline in total forest and vegetation clearance compared to 2024. While the official count does not include vegetation destroyed primarily by wildfire, the 2025 fire season brought far less extreme destruction to the region after the all-time record blazes recorded in 2024.

    Deforestation reductions were recorded across all six of Brazil’s major ecosystems, with the Amazon seeing the steepest drop of 23.5% year-over-year. MapBiomas technical coordinator Marcos Rosa linked the downward trend directly to sweeping policy changes implemented by Lula after he took office, noting that sharp increases in federal enforcement operations and penalties for illegal logging have corresponded directly with falling clearance rates nationwide.

    Lula has positioned the fight against Amazon destruction as a core policy priority of his administration, after four years of surging unregulated logging under his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro. The Brazilian president has pledged to eliminate all illegal deforestation across the country by 2030, a goal rooted in the global scientific consensus that intact old-growth Amazon forests are critical natural carbon sinks that slow global climate change. Last year, Lula leveraged Brazil’s role as Amazon steward to host the COP30 United Nations climate summit in the northern Amazonian city of Belém, using the gathering to highlight his environmental agenda.

    Despite the historic decline, the report underscores that mass deforestation remains a pressing crisis for the world’s largest rainforest. Even with the slowdown, an average of five trees are cut down every single minute second *[correction: every second*] in the Amazon. The Cerrado, a biodiverse tropical savanna ecosystem located south of the Amazon basin, remained the hardest-hit region, accounting for more than half of all vegetation clearance recorded in 2025. MapBiomas data confirms that agricultural expansion continues to drive nearly 99% of all native vegetation loss across Brazil.

    The progress on deforestation has also been tempered by ongoing criticism from environmental advocates, who have pushed back against Lula’s approval of a controversial large-scale oil exploration project near the mouth of the Amazon River, a development that threatens marine and terrestrial ecosystems in the estuary. With Lula campaigning for a fourth presidential term in October’s general election, the conflicting pressures of environmental protection and economic development look set to remain a central dividing issue in the race.

  • Low cost glasses help India’s poor see a better future

    Low cost glasses help India’s poor see a better future

    For 49-year-old Indian vegetable vendor Tofan Jena, the moment he slipped on a new pair of $2 corrective glasses changed his entire world. After a lifetime of blurry vision that he had accepted as unchangeable, Jena could suddenly make out even the smallest text on his phone screen and see the details of the world around him for the first time. “I can read, I can write, and I can see very well at a distance,” Jena said, still marveling at his new perspective. “I’ll be able to do everything with these glasses.”

    Jena is one of an estimated 1 billion people globally living with uncorrected vision impairment, according to the World Health Organization, a population locked out of educational, economic and daily opportunities simply because they lack access to affordable eye care. In India alone, the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness calculates that unaddressed, preventable vision conditions cost the country $30 billion annually in lost economic productivity. Data from the non-profit GoodVision, the organization that provided Jena’s exam and glasses, estimates that 550 million people across India require corrective lenses, and 250 million have no access to this basic care.

    GoodVision is a global charity focused on closing the vast global gap in accessible eye care, operating across 12 low- and middle-income countries to bring services directly to underserved communities. In Odisha, the eastern Indian state where Jena lives, the organization runs mobile community screening camps that set up temporary clinics in poor urban neighborhoods and remote rural villages – areas largely overlooked by India’s public health system. At these pop-up sites, local technicians provide free eye screenings, custom-fit glasses for less than $2, and referrals for advanced procedures like cataract surgery for low-income patients. The charity sources low-cost lenses from China and assembles lightweight frames from locally produced Indian metal wire, with a full pair of glasses ready for a patient in just 10 minutes.

    Dozens of residents in Salia Sahi, a low-income district on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, Odisha’s capital, experienced the same life-changing clarity Jena did during a recent camp. After receiving their glasses, many patients blinked in wonder at a level of visual detail they had never experienced before, or had forgotten over years of uncorrected vision. For 43-year-old shopkeeper Minati Rout, the new glasses let her complete small daily tasks that had become impossible: sorting rice pebbles, threading needles, reading small print. “I will tell my neighbours to get their eyes checked here too,” she said.

    Local optometrist Gopinath Das, who works with GoodVision’s camps, explained that these mobile outreach efforts fill a critical gap for rural communities. “These community camps are extremely important for villagers, because they have no access to eye care,” Das said. “Sometimes they don’t have money, sometimes they don’t even know they have eye problems.” The organization visits more than 400 underserved neighborhoods and villages across India every month, bringing care directly to people who could never travel to urban eye clinics or afford private treatment. For 23-year-old technician Debasmita Behera, the work is both personally and professionally fulfilling: “We are able to provide help to people, and we feel good about it. And I’m also earning.”

    Beyond basic corrective lenses, GoodVision also facilitates low-cost cataract surgery for patients with advanced vision impairment, referring cases to partner hospitals like Bhubaneswar’s Vision Care Hospital. Hospital director Srimant Kumar Mishra says the biggest barrier to care is not cost, but widespread cultural misconceptions. “There is a lot of social stigma, they are afraid… They have a feeling that even if you get old, it is natural that they are not able to see.” GoodVision’s India director Piush Khetan agrees that public education is a core part of the organization’s mission. “In India, we only take things seriously if it’s a matter of life or death,” Khetan said. “So we focus on providing information, we try to convince people of the importance of taking care of their eyes.”

    Maryline Ehlermann, GoodVision’s representative in France, emphasizes that expanding affordable eye care is not just a public health good – it is a high-return global economic investment. Citing global research, Ehlermann notes that treating the 1 billion people living with curable vision impairment would generate an additional $447 billion in annual global economic output. For India, the world’s most populous nation with stark economic inequality, the scale of the challenge remains enormous. But for thousands of low-income Indians like Tofan Jena and Minati Rout, low-cost glasses and accessible community care have already opened the door to a clearer, more hopeful future.

  • ‘My job is going’: UK workers squeezed out by AI

    ‘My job is going’: UK workers squeezed out by AI

    Across the United Kingdom, a growing wave of artificial intelligence adoption is reshaping the country’s labor market, displacing workers across multiple white-collar sectors and forcing many to abandon long-held career paths in search of more stable work. For 52-year-old translator Jessica Spengler, the turning point came 12 months ago, when a client commissioned her to build a glossary specifically to train an AI translation system. In that moment, Spengler said she knew with a chilling clarity: “My job is going.”

    Spengler, an experienced translator who produces English-language content for German educational and historical institutions, has already felt the tangible financial impacts of AI integration into her industry. Based in Brighton, she reports that some clients now offer payment rates lower than she received a decade ago. Roles that once served as a steady entry point for new and mid-career translators – such as translating corporate press releases and user manuals – have dried up entirely for her. Today, most of the work she receives involves proofreading translations generated automatically by AI, a shift that has left translators underpaid despite carrying heavy workloads.

    Holly Parsons, a 24-year-old early-career translator specializing in Spanish-to-English work, echoed these frustrations. Translators are often forced to completely rewrite and correct inaccurate machine-generated content, she explained, but clients still refuse to pay full rates for the work. “It’s hard as a translator to actually charge what the work is worth because people just don’t want to pay it,” Parsons said. To make ends meet, she earns the majority of her income working as a children’s activity leader, rather than through translation.

    The scale of AI’s disruption to the UK labor market is unmatched among most advanced economies, according to recent data. The International Monetary Fund’s 2024 analysis estimates that more than two-thirds of all work tasks carried out by British employees could be completed by AI, leaving the UK more exposed to automation-related job displacement than most peer nations. The UK’s economy, which draws 80 percent of its output from the service sector – a field where AI tools have become flexible, fast, and far cheaper than human labor – is particularly vulnerable to this shift.

    Analysis from Morgan Stanley underscores this trend: in the 12 months leading up to October 2025, British companies that integrated AI into their operations cut their overall workforces by 8 percent, a larger reduction than recorded in Germany, Japan, or Australia. Only the United States reported net employment growth among firms adopting AI over the same period.

    For creative industry workers, the disruption has been equally severe. Laura, a 35-year-old London-based director of photography who asked to keep her last name private for professional reasons, said AI has dramatically reduced available work for crew in the film sector. “Film work has definitely been impacted by AI… it’s really kicked us down,” she said. To escape the industry-wide crisis, Laura has left London and is retraining as an outdoor adventure instructor in southwest England’s Dorset, where she currently earns only the national minimum wage.

    Rufai Ajala, a 35-year-old filmmaker whose short film *Mad Bills to Pay* won an award at the Sundance Film Festival, has made a similar career shift. He is currently retraining to work as a plumber, prioritizing what he calls an “AI-proof” career that can offer long-term financial stability. “I’m not going to rely on film as my main focus… I don’t see it as a career option anymore where you can have stability,” Ajala explained.

    Economists warn that the UK is facing a years-long, painful transition as the labor market adjusts to widespread AI adoption. “There is going to be sort of a painful transition process because new jobs will take time to emerge,” said Bouke Klein Teeselink, an economics professor at King’s College London. This shift will require “a massive adjustment for society,” he added, which could lead to a significant spike in national unemployment rates.

    One of Teeselink’s own studies found that after the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, professions with high AI exposure – including software development and data analysis – saw a sharp drop in new job postings, especially for entry-level positions. The disruption comes at a moment when the UK is already grappling with already elevated youth unemployment: official data shows one in six people aged 16 to 24 is currently out of work, the highest rate recorded since 2014. Existing economic pressures, including the conflict in the Middle East and increases to the national minimum wage, have already slowed hiring across multiple sectors.

    Still, Teeselink noted that AI could bring long-term economic benefits that offset near-term job losses. Productivity gains from AI adoption could drive down consumer prices, he explained, which would in turn stimulate higher demand for goods and services and ultimately create new job opportunities. He added that the UK is reasonably well positioned to manage the transition, thanks to its world-class university system that can lead the work of upskilling young workers to leverage AI tools effectively in new roles.

  • Samsung workers approve bonus deal after big AI profits

    Samsung workers approve bonus deal after big AI profits

    South Korea’s largest tech and semiconductor powerhouse Samsung Electronics has avoided a potentially economy-altering work stoppage after union members voted overwhelmingly to approve a landmark 10-year bonus agreement that unlocks massive payouts for semiconductor workers, fueled by skyrocketing global demand for AI infrastructure. More than 73% of voting union members supported the deal struck with management last week, ending a standoff that had included threats of an 18-day strike — a disruption that sent ripples of concern across South Korea’s economy, where Samsung Electronics alone contributes 12.5% of national GDP and memory chips account for roughly 35% of the country’s total exports.

    The agreement, which ties payouts to aggressive performance targets, allocates 10.5% of the semiconductor division’s annual operating profit to worker bonuses paid in company stock, plus an additional 1.5% payout in cash. Based on current market projections for annual operating profit, roughly 78,000 of Samsung’s 125,000 domestic employees will qualify for an estimated payout of around $370,000 this year. The vote, held electronically over six days concluding Wednesday, drew participation from more than 95% of eligible union members, with 62,600 total ballots cast.

    Samsung’s earnings have exploded in recent months, driven by frenzied global demand for the high-capacity memory chips that power AI data centers. The company reported a 750% year-over-year jump in first-quarter operating profit in April, and earlier this month its market capitalization crossed the $1 trillion threshold for the first time in corporate history.

    While the deal has averted a strike, it has ignited widespread tensions across multiple groups: non-semiconductor workers at Samsung, employees at the company’s listed subsidiaries, and shareholders. A smaller union representing workers in underperforming divisions including mobile devices, displays, and consumer electronics — where profits have either stagnated or declined — filed a court injunction Tuesday to block the agreement, arguing it disproportionately favors semiconductor staff. Workers at separate listed Samsung affiliates, such as Samsung Display, Samsung SDI, and Samsung Electro-Mechanics, have also expressed discontent, as their bonus structures deliver far smaller payouts even as parent company profits surge. A group of retail shareholders has also threatened legal action, claiming the bonus scheme was approved without their input.

    Beyond Samsung’s internal walls, the agreement has sparked a broader national conversation about how windfall profits from the AI boom should be distributed across South Korean society. A senior official from South Korea’s presidential office has even proposed exploring a “national dividend” program, which would redirect excess tax revenue from AI-related corporate gains to fund expanded social welfare programs.

    Industry analysts note that the generous bonuses serve a strategic purpose for Samsung: retaining top domestic engineering talent that has increasingly been targeted by U.S. tech and automotive firms, including Tesla, which are ramping up their own investments in AI chip development and production. For context, the Samsung union points out that workers at rival South Korean chipmaker SK hynix received bonuses more than three times larger than Samsung’s payouts last year.

    The massive windfalls for chip workers at both Samsung and SK hynix have already reshaped South Korea’s social hierarchy, elevating semiconductor engineering to one of the country’s most desirable professions. A simple branded jacket with the SK hynix logo went viral on South Korean social media earlier this month, with users joking it served as a “golden ticket” to luxury shopping and improved dating opportunities. Local news agency Yonhap reports that chip workers now see their “marriage market value” surge, with desirability ratings from matchmaking agency Sunoo rising to nearly match the traditionally elite professions of doctors and lawyers.

    The Samsung deal has also emboldened labor organizers across South Korea, with workers in sectors from biotechnology and automotive manufacturing to shipbuilding and information technology now pushing for larger shares of corporate profits through expanded bonus programs.

  • From barefoot kid, to millionaire star, Caiceido keeps chasing trophies

    From barefoot kid, to millionaire star, Caiceido keeps chasing trophies

    Deep in the working-class hills of Ecuador’s Mujer Trabajadora neighborhood, 24-year-old Chelsea star Moises Caicedo lifted his very first piece of silverware decades ago: a dented golden plastic cup, borrowed from a neighbor just to let a ragtag group of local kids experience the thrill of victory. That humble moment, captured in a faded childhood photograph, remains one of the most cherished keepsakes of Jeremy Cedeno, Caicedo’s lifelong friend and now a local paramedic.

    The photo shows a young, grinning Caicedo kneeling surrounded by five small teammates, his small hands clamped around the toy trophy from an informal neighborhood tournament played on unmarked dirt. There were no referees, no line markers, and no proper gear—Cedeno recalled to AFP that tackles were brutal, and players often took the field barefoot. Today, that same wide, victorious smile is one that millions of football fans around the world recognize, as Caicedo prepares to represent Ecuador at his second consecutive World Cup, kicking off in June 2026.

    Caicedo’s journey from a poor youngest child in a family of 10 to one of the most expensive footballers in English Premier League history is a story of relentless grit. As a child, he supplemented his family’s income by selling flowers in a local cemetery, and he often helped his youth coach park cars in the city’s entertainment district to earn small change for club equipment. His first coach Ivan Guerra, who still runs the same local football school that gave Caicedo his start, remembers the primitive pitch where the star cut his teeth: a rough expanse of mud, stones, sand, and scattered broken glass. Today, Guerra uses Caicedo’s story to teach every young player at the academy that hard work is the only path to turning dreams into reality.

    Darwin Castillo, who coached Caicedo as a teenager at Jaipadida club, recalled a quiet, shy young man who blended in with his peers but already stood out for his unmatched discipline and natural physical ability. That discipline, Castillo says, came from Caicedo’s humble upbringing: a tight-knit poor family that said grace before every meal, and that instilled core values of gratitude and humility that the star has never lost.

    Caicedo made the breakthrough to top-tier European football in 2023, when his British record 115 million pound ($147 million) transfer from Brighton & Hove Albion to Chelsea made him the most expensive player in Ecuador’s national team history. He notched 50 appearances for the Blues in his first full season, scoring five goals and lifting the Club World Cup trophy with the club in the United States in July 2025. On that special day, he tied an Ecuadorian flag around his waist, a quiet tribute to the country and neighborhood that made him. He has since earned a national medal for sporting merit from the Ecuadorian National Assembly, where he reaffirmed his commitment to staying the same humble kid who never forgot his roots.

    Castillo says Caicedo has kept that promise. Today, the star’s face adorns murals across his hometown of Santo Domingo, printed on youth jerseys and even emblazoned on the shin guards of local kids like 9-year-old Julian Hidalgo, who dreams of following in Caicedo’s footsteps and plays under the same coach Guerra. When Caicedo returns home for holidays, he spends his days just as he did as a kid: hitting the beach, riding local Ferris wheels, and kicking a ball around the neighborhood with his former coaches and childhood friends, slipping right back into being the barefoot kid who just loved to play.

    With his second World Cup just weeks away, Caicedo’s journey remains far from over. From that borrowed plastic trophy to global stardom, the driving force that pushed him out of poverty is still pushing him forward to chase more silverware.

  • Buoyant Japan coach targets World Cup glory despite Mitoma blow

    Buoyant Japan coach targets World Cup glory despite Mitoma blow

    Against a backdrop of back-to-back historic upsets over global football powerhouses Brazil and England, Japan men’s national football team head coach Hajime Moriyasu remains unshaken in his bold goal of lifting the 2026 FIFA World Cup trophy — even as a devastating hamstring injury rules out star winger Kaoru Mitoma just days before the squad announcement.

    The 28-year-old Brighton & Hove Albion speedster, who was entering a career peak form ahead of the tournament and scored the match-winning goal against England at Wembley earlier this year, will miss the global showpiece. Mitoma’s absence marks the second high-profile injury blow for Japan, following Monaco attacker Takumi Minamino’s December knee ligament tear that also ruled him out of the competition. Yet Moriyasu argues that his squad’s deep strength in depth, built on a core of players plying their trade at top European clubs, is more than capable of filling the gap left by the in-form winger.

    History shows just that: when Japan claimed their first ever win over five-time World Cup champions Brazil last October, overturning a 2-0 half-time deficit to seal a dramatic 3-2 victory in Tokyo, Mitoma was already sidelined. “That reflects the team concept, that anyone can come into the line-up and the team still performs,” Moriyasu noted of the squad’s collective ethos. The historic result against Brazil was followed by another first for Japanese football in March, when they became the first Asian men’s national team to beat England on home soil, a 1-0 win that cemented growing belief in the side’s ability to compete with the world’s best.

    Japan, the first nation to qualify for the 2026 tournament, has been drawn into Group F alongside the Netherlands, Sweden and Tunisia, kicking off their campaign against the Dutch in Dallas on June 14. Unlike past squads that heavily relied on domestic league talent, Moriyasu’s 2026 roster features only three players from Japan’s top-flight J.League, with the remaining 23 spots filled by players competing across Europe’s top competitions. Key stars that have overcome long-term injury layoffs to make the squad include Liverpool defensive midfielder Wataru Endo and Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu, while Feyenoord striker Ayase Ueda brings consistent goalscoring threat, with Crystal Palace’s Daichi Kamada and Real Sociedad’s Takefusa Kubo rounding out the attacking core.

    Half of the current squad already has experience at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, where Japan pulled off two of the biggest upsets in tournament history: back-to-back 2-1 wins over four-time champions Germany and 2010 winners Spain to top their group, before bowing out to Croatia in a penalty shootout in the round of 16. That run extended Japan’s pattern of reaching the last 16 four times in their World Cup history — but they have never advanced past that stage to the quarter-finals. Moriyasu is targeting an unprecedented run all the way to the title this time around, and Mitoma’s injury has done nothing to change that goal.

    “We have more players with World Cup experience and that will help us in terms of the team’s composure,” Moriyasu said. “It will help us perform effectively in a variety of situations.”

    Japan cruised through the Asian qualifying stage, securing their spot with three matches to spare and dropping only three points before their final dead-rubber loss. This tournament marks their eighth consecutive World Cup appearance, dating back to their debut in 1998. Moriyasu, Japan’s longest-serving national team head coach who took the reins after the 2018 World Cup, brings a wealth of high-level experience himself, having led Japan at two Asian Cups, the Tokyo Olympics, and the 2022 World Cup after winning three J.League titles with club side Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

    “The target doesn’t change,” he insisted of the World Cup glory goal. “But it’s not just about that target, it’s about raising our level as individuals and as a team. It’s not just about my own experience. The managers that have gone before me, both foreign and Japanese, and my staff also have experience of the World Cup. I want to use that experience and knowledge to increase our chances, no matter how slightly.”

  • Bolivian Congress OK’s use of troops against protesters

    Bolivian Congress OK’s use of troops against protesters

    Six months into the center-right presidency of Rodrigo Paz, the Andean nation of Bolivia remains roiled by mass anti-government demonstrations driven by deep public anger over widespread economic hardship. On Tuesday, the country’s lower congressional chamber took the controversial step of approving the repeal of a 2020 regulation designed to limit executive power to impose states of emergency and crack down on street protests, voting by a more than two-thirds majority to clear the way for Paz to deploy military forces across protest hotspots. The regulation, which required congressional pre-approval for any state of emergency and barred presidents from deploying the military for crowd control, was originally drafted by a socialist-led legislature in the wake of 2019’s deadly unrest that killed 36 people and forced longtime socialist leader Evo Morales from office. The repeal passed the Senate in an accelerated vote last week, and moved through the lower chamber in just seven days using an expedited process that bypasses standard legislative procedures. The vote leaves the government free to declare a national state of emergency, restrict core civil liberties including freedom of movement and freedom of assembly, and bring uniformed soldiers into the streets to counter ongoing demonstrations that have paralyzed the capital of La Paz. What began as a series of targeted trade union actions in early May, focused on demands for higher wages, consistent fuel access and more competent economic stewardship, has rapidly expanded into a broad national movement calling for Paz’s immediate resignation. Protesters have blocked all major entry routes to La Paz, forcing most retail businesses to close their doors over fears of escalating violence, and left the capital facing critical shortages of food, medicine and fuel. In recent weeks, Paz has taken a series of small, symbolic steps to defuse public anger ahead of the congressional vote: most notably, he announced Monday a 50% cut to his own presidential salary, which currently stands at roughly 24,000 Bolivian bolivianos (about $3,500) per month. While this salary is among the lowest for any sitting Latin American head of state, 2024 International Labor Organization data shows it is roughly eight times the monthly income of the average Bolivian worker. The move has done little to quiet the growing revolt against Paz’s policies, which the president argues are necessary to pull Bolivia out of its worst economic crisis in decades. Opposition lawmakers and human rights advocates have harshly condemned the congressional vote, warning it sets the stage for widespread human rights abuses and will only escalate tensions rather than resolve the crisis. Opposition legislator Sonia Sinani argued the repeal would do nothing but “pour gasoline on the flames” of already intense public anger, while colleague Alejandro Reyes compared the new expanded executive power to a “strait jacket” on civil society. The Paz administration, for its part, has framed the unrest as a deliberate attempt to overthrow the country’s democratic order, and has accused former president Morales—who is currently in hiding to avoid arrest on trafficking charges he strongly denies—of secretly orchestrating the current wave of protests to seize back power.

  • Holiday-makers in limbo as Aussie travel firm AVG Travels collapses into liquidation

    Holiday-makers in limbo as Aussie travel firm AVG Travels collapses into liquidation

    A Melbourne-headquartered budget travel company that built its brand around the promise of affordable global getaways for Australian travelers has officially entered liquidation, leaving thousands of customers scrambling to salvage their upcoming holiday plans. AVG Travels, which marketed itself on the slogan of helping customers ‘travel more and spend less’ by offering discounted international tour packages, appointed insolvency specialists from firm McGrathNicol as liquidators this week, following growing public frustration and widespread reports of sudden tour cancellations ahead of scheduled departures.

    For days before the formal liquidation announcement, customers had already faced cascading uncertainty, with many sharing that their pre-booked trips had been abruptly canceled or flagged for review just 48 to 72 hours before their planned departure dates. The sudden collapse caught many travelers off guard, who had booked with the company specifically for its advertised low rates on popular international routes across Asia, including Japan, Sri Lanka and China.

    Curiously, AVG Travels’ public website remains active as of the latest update, still displaying promotional advertisements advertising deep discounts on holiday packages to the destinations the company has long specialized in. However, first-time visitors to the site are now greeted by a pop-up notification confirming the liquidation status, which reads: ‘Matthew Hutton and Mark Holland of McGrathNicol were appointed liquidators of AVG Travels Pty Ltd (In Liquidation) on 26 May 2026. Please direct any queries to McGrathNicol on AVGTRAVELS@mcgrathnicol.com.’ The identical notice has also been posted physically on the entrance of AVG Travels’ Melbourne headquarters, barring access to walk-in customers seeking assistance.

    In an official statement released following the appointment, McGrathNicol confirmed that it has taken full control of AVG Travels’ business operations and outstanding assets. The firm said it is currently conducting an urgent, comprehensive review of the collapsed travel company’s financial standing and day-to-day affairs, with the core goal of identifying the path forward that will preserve as much value as possible for all stakeholders, including affected customers and outstanding creditors. McGrathNicol also noted that all customers holding existing, pre-paid bookings with AVG Travels will be contacted directly with updates as the review process moves forward. Further details on the outcome of the liquidation process and potential refunds or recoveries for customers are expected to be released in the coming weeks.

  • Tim Picton accused Brodie Dewar to fight manslaughter charge at trial in WA Supreme Court

    Tim Picton accused Brodie Dewar to fight manslaughter charge at trial in WA Supreme Court

    A young man accused of delivering a fatal one-punch assault that killed a high-profile Australian Labor Party strategist has formally rejected a manslaughter charge and will proceed to a public trial in Western Australia’s highest court.

    Brodie Dewar, 20, entered a not guilty plea during a preliminary hearing held Tuesday at the Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court, responding directly to the magistrate’s reading of the charge with a clear “Not guilty, Your Honour.” The charge alleges Dewar unlawfully killed 36-year-old Tim Picton in an incident that unfolded on the night of December 27 last year outside a popular nightclub in Perth’s Northbridge entertainment district, under circumstances that do not meet the legal threshold for murder.

    According to court documents and official accounts, the altercation left Picton with severe head injuries. He was rushed to a local hospital immediately after the attack, where medical teams placed him in an induced coma in an effort to treat his trauma. Despite extensive medical intervention, Picton succumbed to his injuries several weeks after the incident.

    During Tuesday’s preliminary hearing, Dewar’s defense lawyer Simon Watters confirmed the defense team was prepared to move the case forward to trial in the Western Australian Supreme Court. Magistrates granted the request to commit the defendant to the higher court, scheduling Dewar’s first formal appearance in the Supreme Court for August 24.

    Before his death, Picton had built a significant reputation within Australian Labor circles, with a resume spanning multiple state branches of the party. A former president of South Australian Young Labor, he went on to work as a staffer for federal Labor Members of Parliament Amanda Rishworth and Don Farrell, and also held a role on the staff of former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews before relocating to Western Australia. He was the younger brother of current South Australian State Development Minister Chris Picton, and political observers widely credit him with playing a pivotal behind-the-scenes role in former WA Premier Mark McGowan’s landslide election victory in 2021, a win that delivered Labor a historic majority in the state’s parliament.

  • AFL 2026: Melbourne coach Steven King addresses Clayton Oliver rematch

    AFL 2026: Melbourne coach Steven King addresses Clayton Oliver rematch

    Ahead of one of the most anticipated fixtures of the Australian Football League season, Melbourne Demons interim coach Steven King has outlined his game plan for facing former club superstar Clayton Oliver, now plying his trade with the Greater Western Sydney Giants: a unified team approach from his midfield unit, rather than focusing on shutting down the high-flying ex-teammate individually.

    This weekend’s encounter marks the first time Melbourne will share the field with Oliver since the high-profile star’s off-season departure at the end of 2025, a split that also saw fellow Demons champion Christian Petracca exit the club. Since making the switch to GWS, Oliver has recaptured the elite form that made him a fan favourite in Melbourne, turning in a standout performance last week that anchored the Giants’ dominant 14-goal third quarter upset over reigning premiers the Brisbane Lions.

    While King acknowledged Oliver’s red-hot current form and the respect the current Melbourne squad holds for their former premiership teammate, he stressed that containing Oliver will be a group responsibility rather than a job for any single player. “A lot of our midfield group were premiership teammates with Clarry, and they respect him enormously,” King told reporters ahead of the clash. “He’s playing at an incredibly high level right now, and it’s up to our entire unit to step up and respond as one.”

    The call for a collective response comes off the back of a disappointing heavy defeat for the Demons against the Western Bulldogs in their most recent outing. King noted that the need for a turnaround extends far beyond just matching Oliver’s output, with the entire GWS midfield posing a threat that Melbourne must answer as a group. “We were beaten pretty convincingly last week, so we need to get back on track as a group, not just against Clarry but against their whole midfield unit,” he said. “As a collective, we need to find our rhythm again, and this should be a great contest to watch.”

    Despite the high-profile departures of two of the club’s greatest recent players, the Demons have exceeded expectations under King’s leadership this season, climbing rapidly up the AFL ladder. King framed the split as a mutually beneficial outcome for all parties, noting that both Oliver and Petracca have continued to deliver strong performances at their new clubs, while the roster overhaul has created opportunities for young Melbourne players to step into key roles.

    “I think whenever you can get a win-win outcome, that’s great for the whole competition,” King said. “I genuinely want Clarry and Christian to go really well in their new homes. It was clear internally that we needed a change, so we don’t waste energy worrying about how they’re going – our focus is on how we perform here. They’re both great players and legends of this club, so it’s no surprise they’re still playing elite footy. For us, the biggest positive has been the opportunity this has given our young guys to step up, and that’s been really satisfying to watch.”

    In team selection news, the Demons are set to welcome back key forward Brody Mihocek from a hamstring injury, while versatile midfielder Latrelle Pickett will be available after being managed in the previous round. For defender Jake Lever, who is sidelined with concussion, experienced utility Tom McDonald is lined up as a likely replacement for the GWS clash.