The Sindh government spokesman said on Saturday that the provincial government would take action to restore the Karachi playground to its original state if people helped authorities identify land that was under illegal occupation or was used for any other purpose than intended. to.
Barrister Murtaza Wahab, who is also an adviser to the chief minister of law and environment, spoke at the sports festival inauguration ceremony at the Rashid Lateef Cricket Ground in the city’s Korangi District.
Wahab said on the occasion, the playground in the city was previously filled with garbage, but now the land is used for sports and other healthy recreational activities by residents.
He said that restoring Karachi’s playgrounds to their original state so that they could be used for the purposes they had built would be like gifts to the townspeople.
He also said that sports and recreation activities will continue to be held in Korangi District, adding that there is no longer an era where an environment of fear exists throughout Karachi, as urban people are now given the opportunity for wholesome recreation and entertainment.
In the past, said the supervisor, the land used to hold a sports festival in Korangi was once filled with trash, but now it is being used again to hold sports activities after being cleared.
He said that sports facilities that were restored to public use after municipal waste disposal were one recent example that administrators appointed by the provincial government to look after city government agencies had done an excellent job, given the resources available to them. .
He praised the services of the Deputy Commissioner of Korangi District Shaharyar Memon, who also held additional responsibility as the administrator of the Korangi District Municipal Corporation, for organizing a sports festival for the community in the district.
He laments that people have been less inclined towards athletics and sports activities since the advent of digital media and other modern modes of communication. An outing was also held in commemoration of World Diabetes Day.
Travelers from New Zealand continue to be frustrated by state regulations governing COVID-19.
The main point:
The first travelers from New Zealand began arriving in Australia on Friday
So far, NSW and NT have signed up for a trans-Tasman travel bubble
But dozens of travelers from NZ have caught connecting flights to other states
Melbourne man Matt Gadsby was visiting his two-year-old son in New Zealand when a travel corridor with NSW and the Northern Territory was announced.
He did the research and said he found nothing to suggest he wouldn’t be able to make the journey back to Victoria once he landed in Sydney – so he went for it.
“Everything I could find showed that would not be a problem,” he said.
Mr Gadsby – who arrived in Sydney from Auckland on Sunday before catching a connecting flight to Melbourne – said he felt “alarming” because it was so difficult to find information.
Since Friday, New Zealanders have been allowed to fly to New South Wales and the Northern Territory under the Federal Government’s trans-Tasman travel bubble.
But the agreement has caused a lot of confusion among travelers, with around 100 catching connecting flights to states that don’t subscribe to the bubble.
At Sydney Airport on Monday evening, New Zealanders Roger and Glenda Haynes arrived on Qantas Flight 146 – seven months after their planned move to Australia.
Roger Haynes, who arrived in Australia with his wife Glenda, said the state restrictions on COVID-19 were confusing.(ABC News: Jean Kennedy)
They had sold their home in Auckland and were ready to embark on their dream journey across the gutter, but their plans went awry when the Australia and New Zealand borders closed.
“On March 28 we already booked flights, so we were two days behind,” said Haynes.
The couple said they applied to the Australian Border Force (ABF) for travel exemption 14 times, but were pushed back each time.
They plan to settle on the Gold Coast once the Queensland border reopens and say they will be happy to go into quarantine when the time comes.
But Mr Haynes said the information on every state’s health regulations was clear like mud.
“You have to read the whole thing several times until it sinks in,” he said.
“Often times you read a part of it and think I can do that, and then you read it all and realize you can’t.
James Lee was on the same flight.
The 18-year-old from Canterbury came as part of a gap year to pilot the tractor at Moree.
James Lee said he was “excited” he would not need to be quarantined at the start of the gap year.(ABC News: Jean Kennedy)
He said airport authorities were drawing attention to government websites about which states require passengers to quarantine.
But he is “very happy” that he doesn’t have to go into quarantine in NSW.
“It makes it much more doable,” he said. “Nobody wants to stay two weeks in a hotel.”
Victoria ‘in the bubble, like it or not’
Victoria Prime Minister Daniel Andrews said 65 people had arrived in Victoria from New Zealand and 55 of them had been dismantled and notified of the state’s current COVID-19 rules.
The Victoria Department of Health website was updated late on Sunday to say New Zealanders arriving in NSW can travel to Victoria without quarantine.
But Mr Andrews expressed frustration that they were allowed to come.
“Despite the fact that we don’t want to be in the bubble, it seems that the bubble applies in every part of our country, not just saying yes,” he said.
“In the end we are in the bubble whether we like it or not.”
Western Australian Prime Minister Mark McGowan said 23 New Zealanders “crossing the border” who had traveled to Perth were in hotel quarantine.
About 100 people have caught connecting flights to other “non-bubble” states.(AAP: Dean Lewins)
South Australia and Tasmania have also received New Zealand visitors despite not signing up for the travel bubble.
Home Secretary Mike Pezzullo, who is responsible for arranging international arrivals to Australia, told Senate Estimates on Monday that there are no restrictions on internal travel after New Zealand travelers are allowed to enter the country.
“Once they have completed all those formalities – customs, immigration, quarantine, biosecurity or other federally imposed obligations – you are subject to the ordinary laws of the Australian federation,” he said.
Mr Pezzullo said he believes New Zealand also ends up in Queensland.
Gadsby said he can appreciate the Victorian Government trying to suppress COVID-19 cases.
“But on the other hand, I feel there is a massive misinterpretation associated with people like me trying to return to Victoria – like we came here for some reason other than because we just wanted to be reunited with family.
He said any advice New Zealanders make by traveling to another state is “confrontational” and “offensive”.
Baggage guards for Air New Zealand have been charged with helping drug smugglers smuggle 20kg of methamphetamine through border security checks. Photo / Brett Phibbs
EXCLUSIVE: The red flag was raised when the 25-year-old rapper from Auckland flew to the United States shortly after New Zealand emerged from level 4 lockdown and returned just five days later. Customs officer found 20 kg of crystal methamphetamine in a suitcase allegedly belonging to him. However, investigations into how the drugs managed to get past border controls revealed what Customs alleged was a corrupt Air NZ baggage handling crew. Jared Savage Report.
An Air New Zealand baggage handler has been arrested for allegedly helping someone circumvent border security checks and smuggling drugs into the country during the Covid lockdown.
Four men who work at Auckland International Airport are jointly accused with local rap musicians of importing $ 8 million worth of methamphetamine in May.
If convicted, the offense carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
In what is believed to be the country’s first known prosecution, a Customs investigation will accuse Air New Zealand staff of engaging in a drug-smuggling tactic that has been described overseas as a “rip on, rip off”.
For this method to work, the importer of drugs needs a man or woman “in” on either end of the flight.
To avoid X-ray machines and other security measures, baggage attendants must secretly load the medicine bag on board among other checked baggage.
Or unsuspecting travelers get an extra bag tagged with their baggage allowance. After all, this is a “rip on”.
Once the plane lands at its destination, other baggage staff on the runway remove the drug-laden baggage before it can be checked. This is a “rip off”.
In the case currently being tried in Manukau District Court, four Air New Zealand baggage handlers were arrested after $ 8 million worth of methamphetamine was found at Auckland International Airport.
The red flag was raised when a 25-year-old man traveled to the United States on May 2, 2020 – when New Zealand was under Covid level 3 lockdown restrictions – and returned from Los Angeles five days later.
Suspicious of his travels given the global pandemic, Customs officials searched his black carry-on and found 20 kg of crystal meth.
Romney Fuki Fukofuka, 25, was charged with possessing Class A drugs to supply and import Class A drugs. The Mangere resident registered his job as a musician and rapper under the stage name Konecs.
Court documents reveal that Fukofuka was also charged with conspiracy to import methamphetamine between March and his arrest on May 7.
The alleged breach specifically relates to five packages terminated by the United States Customs Border Protection agency, which hid a total of 15 kg of methamphetamine.
Fukofuka was arrested along with Sese Vimahi, a 44-year-old baggage handler, and charged with importing 20kg of crystal methamphetamine found at the airport on May 7.
Customs continued to investigate and one week later, three Air New Zealand loaders were jointly charged with the same offense: Daniel John Ah Hong, 26, Mark Anthony Castillo, 23, and George Aloha Taukolo, 29.
The fifth man with temporary name suppression was also accused of importing Class A drugs.
All pleaded not guilty to the charges and will appear again at the Manukau District Court next month.
None of the baggage handlers have worked since Air New Zealand became aware of the allegations, said the airline’s head of operational integrity and safety officer, Captain David Morgan.
At the end of October, all but one baggage handler will no longer be employed by Air New Zealand.
The remaining person guarantee terms don’t allow them to contact Air New Zealand, Morgan said.
“Air New Zealand has a strict Code of Conduct. We take these kinds of allegations very seriously and have zero tolerance for any behavior that is found to violate our Code of Conduct.”
Morgan said Air New Zealand employees are encouraged to call a confidential “Speak Up” line, which operates 24/7, to report any behavior that is suspected of being inappropriate, unethical or illegal.
Customs investigations manager Bruce Berry said organized crime targets people and processes to smuggle drugs across the border. Photo / Tania Whyte
Because the matter is in court, Customs investigations manager Bruce Berry is unable to discuss the specifics of the investigation or arrest.
But speaking broadly of the “insider threat”, Berry said organized crime relies on subverting people and processes to smuggle illegal goods across borders.
“Whether it’s passenger or cargo, organized crime is very agile and is always looking for ways to exploit gaps in the armor,” Berry said.
“Internationally, the insider threat has existed during the trading post. But because New Zealand is such an attractive market now, we are starting to see sophisticated criminal techniques being applied here.”
In a scene reminiscent of the popular television crime series The Wire, containers are loaded into the back of a truck at the port at 1 a.m., as soon as they are marked for inspection by Customs.
Security camera image of a container being moved from Auckland Harbor in July 2019 behind a truck. Photo / Provided
The container is said to have contained 24 air compressors from Thailand and Customs wanted to take a closer look at the contents, as the company that imported the goods was founded by members of a Mongol motorcycle gang who had recently been deported from Australia.
Police and Customs believe large quantities of drugs are hidden inside and detectives from the National Organized Crime Group are still investigating the “suspicious circumstances” in which the containers were taken.
New Zealand has a reputation for being one of the most corrupt countries in the world.
But according to Berry, the arrest of a port supervisor and the recent prosecution of a police officer for leaking sensitive information to a gang suggests law enforcement and the industry cannot be complacent about the threat posed by organized crime.
“This type of corruption is unheard of internationally, but New Zealand has been isolated from it for a long time.”
The first shipment of beef from Britain to the United States since 1996 is scheduled to depart from Northern Ireland on Wednesday, the British government said in a press release.
The US ban on EU beef was introduced in 1996 after Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), more commonly known as mad cow disease.
“Today’s news means the sector can now begin to reap the economic benefits of trade with the US – with industry predicting beef exports to be worth £ 66 million ($ 85 million) over the next five years,” the UK government said.
The UK government news release noted that the USDA Food Inspection and Safety Services Overseas Audit Report published in March confirmed that UK meat hygiene systems and controls are of a suitable and equivalent standard for products to be imported into the United States.
The report notes that all of England meets US production requirements, therefore beef from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is eligible for export.
LONDON – The UK resumed deliveries of beef to the United States on September 30 for the first time since 1996. European beef has been banned in the United States since bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, broke out in the United Kingdom for more than 20 years. then.
In the summer of 2019, the United States agreed to a standard of equality in UK disease control measures after inspection take place. The ban was lifted in March 2020.
“The US represents an important potential market for our red meat exports and today’s first shipment is the result of the hard work and persistence of industry and government to make this important next step,” said Phil Hadley, director of international market development for Agriculture. and the Horticultural Development Agency (AHDB). “This important milestone will bring a tremendous boost to the sector and we look forward to seeing more of our red meat served on tables across the US in the coming months and years.”
The first shipment of beef came from Foyle Food Group, Foyle Campsie in Northern Ireland. More deliveries from across the UK are expected in the coming weeks.
“Our beef is recognized as one of the best in the world for its high quality, food safety and welfare standards, and this important milestone means more people around the world can enjoy our products,” said George Eustice, UK Environment secretary.
The export business to the United States is estimated to be worth £ 66 million ($ 85 million) over the next five years.
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