Australian police said on Tuesday that reports of human trafficking and slavery reached an all-time high in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, with an annual hike of 12 per cent.

Authorities received 382 reports of modern slavery and human trafficking offences, recording an increase of 12.35 per cent from 340 reports the previous fiscal year, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the latest figures released by the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

Among them, 109 reports were related to human trafficking, with 91 regarding forced marriage. There were also 69 reports of forced labour.

AFP Human Exploitation Commander Helen Schneider noted that the statistics on human trafficking were more than just numbers.

“They represent innocent lives in the community. By raising awareness of the laws in Australia and supporting victims, we can make strides in eradicating this crime,” Schneider said.

“This increase is likely attributed to increased awareness of these crimes in the Australian community,” the commander added.

Tuesday also marked the United Nations (UN) World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, with this year’s theme focusing on “Leave No Child Behind in the Fight Against Human Trafficking.”

Data from the UN suggested that one in three victims of human trafficking globally is a child, and the majority of these trafficked children are girls. AGENCIES

 North Korea’s recent campaign of launching trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea has disrupted operations of Incheon International Airport, the South’s main gateway, on 12 occasions, a lawmaker said on Tuesday, citing government data.

According to data from the Seoul Regional Aviation Administration submitted to Rep. Yang Bu-nam of the main opposition Democratic Party, runways at the airport have been shut down for a total of 265 minutes across 12 occasions due to the balloons sent from North Korea, Yonhap news agency reported.

The first disruption incident occurred from 10.48 p.m. to 11.42 p.m. on June 1, four days after North Korea first began launching the balloons. The most severe disruption occurred on June 26, when runways were shut down on eight occasions, resulting in 166 minutes of halted takeoffs and landings.

“North Korea’s trash balloons not only have landed within the premises of the presidential office but also have had a broad impact on the operations of Incheon International Airport and flights there,” Yang said.

He added that the government must work to suspend the vicious cycle connected to both anti-North Korean leaflet balloons from the South and trash balloons from the North.

According to the South’s intelligence agency, the North has sent some 3,600 trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea this year, which the North has claimed are in retaliation for South Korean activists sending propaganda leaflets across the border. AGENCIES

The US and the Philippines held a Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue (2+2) on Tuesday in Manila.

Philippines Secretary for Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo and Secretary of National Defence Gilberto Teodoro Jr met with their counterparts, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin in Quezon City, for the fourth such dialogue between the two countries.

The four Secretaries discussed how to further enhance the two countries’ commitment to the alliance between the US and the Philippines while enabling a common programme supporting the rules-based international order, enhanced economic ties, broad-based prosperity, and solutions to evolving regional and global security challenges.

The third iteration of the 2+2 dialogue was held in April 2023 in Washington and concluded in a joint statement that reaffirmed full support for international law, modernising shared defence capabilities of the alliance, advancing economic and environmental security, and cultivating the vibrant and robust people-to-people ties between the two countries.

Blinken and Austin were also scheduled to pay a courtesy call on Philippines President Ferdinand R Marcos, Jr during their visit to Manila. AGENCIES

Warning against terrorists deploying new technologies, the Quad foreign ministers have reinforced their call for concerted international action against Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), as well as Al-Qa’ida and the Islamic State outfit.

After their meeting in Tokyo, the Quad ministers said in a joint statement on Monday that they were committed to working with international and regional partners to forestall “threats posed by the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes”.

“We reiterate the call for concerted action against all UN-listed terrorist groups including Al-Qa’ida, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and their proxy groups,” External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Foreign Ministers Penny Wong of Australia and Yoko Kamikawa of Japan said in their statement.

“We deplore the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), drones, tunnels, and information and communication technologies by terrorists and terrorist entities,” they said.

Recalling the 26/11 Mumbai and the 2016 Pathankot terrorist attacks, they called for “bringing the perpetrators of these attacks to justice without delay”.

The ministers said the first meeting of the Quad Working Group on Counter-Terrorism established at the ministerial meeting in New Delhi last year had “fruitful discussions” at its first meeting and at the fourth tabletop exercise in Honolulu in December, and added that they looked forward to next exercise to be hosted by Japan in November.

The tabletop exercises look at scenarios to develop responses to an overwhelming terrorist incident in the Indo-Pacific region.

The 4,000-word joint statement ran the gamut from the conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine, and China’s regional threats to cooperation on undersea cable connectivity and environment.

On Ukraine, where there are differences in nuances between India and the other three Quad partners who are all in on aiding Kiev, the statement said unequivocally, “We reiterate the need for a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in line with international law, consistent with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

India reiterating, this time in this forum, its joint commitment to upholding international law and the UN Charter in Ukraine comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Moscow which drew criticism from the West and Ukraine and underlined its independent stand on international relations.

The joint statement did not name Russia.

The ministers’ statement made pointed references to the dangers to regional peace and security posed by China, but again, without naming it.

They reiterated their fundamental “steadfast commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, which is inclusive and resilient, and are united in our commitment to upholding the free and open rules-based international order”.

They called for upholding “sovereignty and territorial integrity, and peaceful settlement of disputes and prohibition on the threat or use of force in accordance with the UN Charter”, while also committing to “the principle of freedom, human rights, rule of law, (and) democratic values”.

Regarding foreign manipulation through exploitation of the information infrastructure, the four ministers vowed to “leverage our collective expertise and capacity to respond” to those threats.

They warned of “foreign information manipulation and interference, including disinformation, which undermines trust and sows discord in the international community” which are tactics that are “intended to interfere with domestic and international interest”.

The ministers said they would promote human rights while “supporting media freedom, addressing online harassment and abuse, and countering unethical practices”. AGENCIES

 The Quad foreign ministers have said that they look forward to India hosting the Quad Leaders’ Summit later this year – a meeting with added symbolism because it will be one of Joe Biden’s last presidential travels abroad.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Foreign Ministers Penny Wong of Australia and Yoko Kamikawa of Japan welcomed the holding of the Quad summit in India in a joint statement after their ministerial meeting in Tokyo on Monday.

This year’s summit, which is India’s turn to host, was originally expected to be held in January, but did not happen because Biden reportedly wasn’t able to make it at that time.

White House National Security Spokesperson Advisor John Kirby confirmed last week that Biden would attend the upcoming summit in India.

“We’re still committed to there being a Quad leader summit this year, but there’s nothing on the calendar right now for it,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host the summit with the participation also of Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese of Australia and Fumio Kishida of Japan.

The timing and venue of the last summit in 2023 were also disrupted by Biden’s travel plans.

By rotation, it was scheduled to be held in Australia, but was cancelled when Biden pulled out at the last minute citing domestic compulsions as he was in the middle of negotiations with Congress on raising the government limits on borrowing.

It was later moved to Hiroshima, but with Australian Albanese acting as the host and held on the sidelines of a summit of the major industrialised countries, the G7.

Biden, who announced this month that he will not be seeking another term as president, last visited India in September for the summit of the major economies, the G20 hosted by Prime Minister Modi. AGENCIES

 At least seven more people have been confirmed dead and three others remain missing after intense rain triggered flash floods and mudflows in central China’s Hunan Province, pushing the death toll due to the rain-related incidents to 22, local authorities said Tuesday.

Among the dead are three villagers from Yongxing County in the city of Chenzhou. A rain-triggered mudflow claimed their lives after they went missing last Wednesday while patrolling the mountains, according to the county’s emergency management bureau.

The other four deaths and three missing persons were reported in four villages in the city of Zixing, which has experienced record precipitation since Friday, with one location recording over 645 mm of rain in just 24 hours, Xinhua news agency reported.

Heavy rainstorms in the aftermath of Typhoon Gaemi have wreaked havoc across Hunan. In Xiangtan County, three dike breaches occurred in the Juanshui River in the past few days, prompting the evacuation of thousands of residents.

In Zixing, the rain has toppled or damaged the homes of 867 households and caused 1,345 road cave-ins. Officials said that communications with many villages were disrupted, hindering timely updates on the situation.

The city has dispatched more than 5,400 rescuers. A total of 11,379 people have been evacuated for safety, said the city’s flood control and drought relief headquarters.

On Tuesday morning, volunteers were seen loading bottled water, rice and cooking oil onto a helicopter parked on the sports ground of Zixing No.1 Middle School.

Since Monday, helicopters have been taking off from the school to air-drop supplies to disaster-hit areas where rain-triggered landslides have disrupted road traffic and telecommunications.

“These supplies are urgently needed in disaster-hit areas, so we continued flying,” said Ou Deqing, board chairman of a Hunan-based general aviation company whose helicopters joined the relief efforts.

As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, helicopters have made 101 trips to evacuate residents and deliver 20.9 tonnes of materials to 28 villages in Zixing, according to the headquarters.

China’s meteorological authorities on Monday issued an orange alert for rainstorms, the second-highest level in its four-tier warning system, across parts of the country.

Heavy rain is expected in regions including the Chinese capital Beijing and neighbouring Hebei and Tianjin, as well as Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Hubei and Hunan, on Monday and Tuesday, according to the National Meteorological Center. AGENCIES

The Slovak refinery Slovnaft will suspend the supplies of diesel to Ukraine if the transit of Russian oil via Ukraine to Slovakia is not resumed soon, Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico has said.

Ukraine recently stopped the transit of oil from the Russian company Lukoil through the Druzhba pipeline to Slovakia and Hungary, having placed the company on its sanctions list in June. Slovakia’s economy ministry said earlier this month that oil deliveries from Lukoil to Slovakia via Ukraine had already dried up.

In a video message published on Facebook on Monday, Fico said that “further implementation of this senseless sanction” would only harm Ukraine, Slovakia and Hungary, Xinhua news agency reported.

“If the transit of Russian oil via Ukraine isn’t resumed in the short term, Slovnaft, which covers one-tenth of Ukrainian consumption, will discontinue the supplies of diesel to Ukraine,” he said.

In a telephone conversation on Friday, Fico proposed a technical solution to his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal to resolve the dispute, which his office said would require the participation of several countries, including Slovakia.

“On behalf of Slovakia, I repeat that we are ready. I welcome reports which confirm that relevant commercial companies are already considering how to implement this technical solution in the shortest possible time,” he said in Monday’s video message.

Also on Monday, Slovakia’s Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar said after a meeting with Hungarian Ambassador to Slovakia Csaba Balogh that the two countries have jointly called for “immediate action” from the European Commission concerning the interrupted oil supplies.

Last week, Blanar and his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto submitted a similar appeal to the European Commission, claiming that Ukraine’s decision to stop Lukoil transit to Slovakia and Hungary violated the provisions of the Association Agreement concluded between the European Union and Ukraine.

According to the Slovak minister, the European Commission has requested additional information from the relevant parties. “The Commission is postponing the issue, but the people of Slovakia and Hungary cannot wait until there is a shortage of oil and therefore fuel. It will be too late then,” he was quoted as saying by the News Agency of the Slovak Republic. AGENCIES

 The opposition-controlled National Assembly passed the last of four contentious broadcasting bills aimed at reducing the government’s influence over public broadcasters on Tuesday, ending a six-day filibuster by the ruling party.

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) led the bill’s passage in an 189-0 vote after passing a motion to forcefully end a 24-hour filibuster by the ruling People Power Party (PPP). PPP lawmakers left the Assembly chamber to boycott the vote in protest, Yonhap news agency reported.

The revision to the Korea Educational Broadcasting System Act aims to increase the number of board directors at public broadcaster EBS from the current nine to 21.

With Tuesday’s vote, all four broadcasting bills — amendments to the Broadcasting Act, the Foundation for Broadcast Culture Act, the Korea Educational Broadcasting System Act and the establishment of the Korea Communications Commission — passed through the National Assembly.

The four bills are intended to reform the governance structure of the nation’s public broadcast media by weakening the government and the National Assembly’s power to name board directors.

Since Thursday, the PPP has been staging back-to-back filibusters to block the passage of the bills.

The PPP has claimed that the broadcasting bills will only increase the presence of progressive figures on the boards of public broadcasters, while the DP has said they will prevent political influence in the appointment of the heads of public broadcasters.

Last year, President Yoon Suk Yeol vetoed the three broadcasting bills, excluding the revision to the act on the establishment of the Korea Communications Commission, after they were passed by the opposition-controlled parliament.

The PPP is expected to call on Yoon to exercise his veto rights again over the four broadcasting bills. AGENCIES

 A suspected bubonic plague case has been reported in the western Mongolian province of Govi-Altai, according to local media on Tuesday.

The individual from the Taishir soum (administrative subdivision) in the province has been recently hospitalised after consuming marmot meat, Xinhua news agency reported.

In response, at least 13 people who were in close contact with the patient are being isolated, and the soum has been placed under quarantine.

Although hunting marmots is illegal in Mongolia, many Mongolians regard the rodent as a delicacy and ignore the law.

The National Centre for Zoonotic Diseases has indicated that 17 out of Mongolia’s 21 provinces are at risk of bubonic plague infection.

Bubonic plague, a bacterial disease spread mostly by fleas on wild rodents and other animals, can kill an adult in less than 24 hours if not treated in time, according to the World Health Organisation. AGENCIES

The US federal government’s total public debt has surpassed $35 trillion for the first time, as recorded at the end of last week, according to the latest data released by the Treasury Department.

The total public debt outstanding climbed to $35 trillion on Friday, according to the Daily Treasury Statement released on Monday. The data is updated at the end of each business day with data from the previous business day, Xinhua news agency reported.

Just seven months ago, the US national debt surpassed $34 trillion in late December 2023. Three months before that, the US reached a historic milestone by passing $33 trillion.

“The borrowing just keeps marching along, reckless and unyielding,” said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, in a statement. “Yet despite all the risks and warning signs, these alarm bells seem to be falling on deaf ears.”

“We are going to have to get serious about the debt, and soon. Election years cannot be an exception for trying to prevent completely foreseeable dangers — and the debt is one of the major dangers we are facing,” said MacGuineas.

According to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, a nonpartisan organisation focused on addressing US long-term fiscal challenges, the national debt of $35.001 trillion translates to $103,945 of debt per person in the US.

“Our deficits are caused mainly by predictable structural factors: our ageing baby-boom generation, rising healthcare costs, and a tax system that does not bring in enough money to pay for what the government has promised its citizens,” the foundation said. AGENCIES