Foreign News

Dozens of Australian and New Zealand schools shut over asbestos risk in children’s sand

Published

2 months ago

2025/11/14

Priyan

Dozens of schools and preschools across Australia and New Zealand have been fully or partially closed after a warning over asbestos risks in children’s sand.

A recall notice for the coloured products, which were found to contain traces of tremolite asbestos, was issued by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) on Wednesday.

The regulator said there was a “low” risk that the asbestos could become airborne or fine enough for inhalation, but it “may still pose a risk”.

New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has also urged people to stop using the sand and arrange for safe disposal “through licensed professionals”.

On Friday, at least 15 schools and seven preschools in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) – where Canberra is situated – were fully closed, with six others partially closed as a precaution. There are also reports of a school closure in Queensland.

In New Zealand, the Ministry of Education said on Friday that five early learning services and two schools would close temporarily while licensed professionals addressed possible asbestos contamination, public broadcast RNZ reported.

In an earlier statement on Wednesday, MBIE product safety spokesperson Ian Caplin urged those who had bought the products to “act immediately”.

“Stop using the sand, contain it, secure it in a safe place and arrange for safe disposal through licensed professionals, a list of these is available on the WorkSafe website,” he said.

The ACCC said tremolite asbestos, a naturally occurring asbestos, had been detected in some samples after laboratory testing.

But it added that respiratory asbestos had not been detected in any of the samples and the release of respiratory asbestos fibres from the sand was “unlikely” unless it was “processed by mechanical means” such as crushing or pulverising.

Asbestos becomes dangerous when fibres are breathed in. They can damage the lungs and cause diseases including cancer.

Importing or exporting asbestos or goods containing asbestos is prohibited under both Australian and New Zealand law.

The sand products, which are imported from China and sold throughout Australia between 2020 and 2025, are sold by several stationery supply chains, including one of the country’s most popular retailers, Officeworks.

The products set out in the recall notice are labelled as Kadink Sand (1.3kg), Educational Colours – Rainbow Sand (1.3kg) and Creatistics – Coloured Sand (1kg).

The BBC has contacted supplier Educational Colours Pty Ltd – which issued the recall – for comment.

Officeworks said it had stopped selling the Educational Colours products after tests detected the asbestos, according to Australian broadcaster ABC.

It added that it had obtained an independent health and safety risk assessment which found that “the safety risk associated with these products is negligible”.

New Zealand’s MBIE said it had been notified that a voluntary recall for two products sold in the country – EC Rainbow Sand (1.3kg) and Creatistics – Coloured Sand (1kg products) – was underway.

It added that it was taking “precautionary action” while it established the extent of the risk posed by the “potentially contaminated product”.

Yvette Berry, the ACT’s education minister, said on social media that the products were “used at some of our public schools for sensory play, and arts and crafts”.

“I understand that this news might be upsetting for families,” she added. “Closing schools will allow testing and remediation to occur as soon as possible”.

A spokesperson for the state of Victoria confirmed no state schools will close there over the warning, saying they’d been advised “the health risk from the use of these products is low”.

“As such, there is no indication of a need to close schools or early childhood services at this time,” they added.

The spokesperson said officials were working “swiftly” to identify schools and early childhood services that may be using the recalled products, and will then support them to follow the remediation advice from relevant authorities.

In New South Wales, where there have also been no school closures, a safety alert was sent to all public schools to “immediately and safely remove these sand products if they have them”.

“The health, safety, and wellbeing of students, staff, and the school community is the department’s highest priority,” they added.

ACCC Nine different tubs of brightly coloured sand labelled as 'EC Rainbow Sand' are pictured against a white background. The colours are pink, purple, yellow, blue, black, chocolate brown, red, orange and dark green. — *EC Rainbow Sand is among the products listed in the ACCC’s recall notice [BBC]*

**[BBC]**

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Foreign News

Naqvi casts uncertainty on Pakistan’s participation in T20 World Cup after Bangladesh ouster

Published

4 hours ago

2026/01/25

Priyan

Mohsin Naqvi said the decision to play in the T20 World Cup or not now rests with the Pakistan government [Cricinfo]

Pakistan’s participation at the upcoming Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 has been thrown into uncertainty after the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi said a final decision would be made after talking to Pakistan’s government. Speaking shortly after the ICC officially removed Bangladesh from the T20 World Cup owing to their refusal to play in India, Naqvi accused the ICC of “double standards” favouring India, and termed what happened to Bangladesh “an injustice”.

“Our stance on World Cup participation will be what the government of Pakistan instructs me,” he said. “The Prime Minister is not in Pakistan right now. When he returns, I’ll be able to give you our final decision. It’s the government’s decision. We obey them, not the ICC.”

Over the past week or so, Pakistan has firmly thrown its support behind Bangladesh in their dispute with the ICC demanding a venue outside of India to play their T20 World Cup matches. At an ICC meeting last week, the PCB was understood to be the only board to back the BCB in their stance. The tournament is jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka, but Bangladesh’s games were all scheduled in India. Bangladesh, however, have said it is no longer safe for them to play in India after the BCCI, on January 3, instructed Kilkata Knight Riders to release Mustafizur Rahman rom their IPL 2026 squad.

Though no reason was stated for that directive, it came amid deteriorating relations between India and Bangladesh. On January 4, the BCB wrote to the ICC after consultation with the government that the Bangladesh team would not travel to India for its T20 World Cup matches due to security concerns, a stance it stuck to through several subsequent discussions with the ICC.

The ICC has repeatedly refused Bangladesh’s request, and earlier this week gave them an ultimatum demanding them to accept the schedule as it was, or face being removed from the tournament. On Saturday, with Bangladesh sticking to their position, the ICC formally announced Bangladesh would not be part of the T20 World Cup, and would be replaced instead by Scotland.

Naqvi was critical of the decision, calling it an injustice to Bangladesh. “I think Bangladesh has been hard done by,” he said. “You can’t have double standards. You can’t say for one country [India] they can do whatever they want and for the others to have to do the complete opposite. That’s why we’ve taken this stand, and made clear Bangladesh have had an injustice done to them. They should play in the World Cup, they are a major stakeholder in cricket.”

While there have been local, unverified reports that the PCB would refuse to participate in the World Cup in solidarity with Bangladesh should they be removed, the PCB has declined to confirm to ESPNcricinfo when approached. Naqvi’s comments to the media on Saturday was the first time anyone at the PCB has directly addressed the issue, where he repeatedly said the decision was no longer in the hands of the PCB.

“If the government of Pakistan says we mustn’t play, then maybe the ICC will bring in a 22nd team (after Scotland). It’s up to the government.”

No specific reason was given by Naqvi other than to support Bangladesh, as to why government permission would now be required for an event that starts in two weeks. Last year, both BCCI and PCB, with the approval of ICC, signed up to a hybrid model agreement by which both countries would play each other on neutral territory for all global events in the 2024-27 rights cycle.

Pakistan play all their games in Sri Lanka for this event (which already was a co-hosted event) and are scheduled to play the opening game of the tournament, against Netherlands on February 7. They are scheduled to play India on February 15 in Colombo in their group stage clash.

[Cricinfo]

Foreign News

Indonesia landslide kills 7, dozens more missing

Published

16 hours ago

2026/01/24

Priyan

At least seven people have died and more than 80 others are missing after a landslide hit Indonesia’s West Java province, officials said.

The landslide occurred in the West Bandung region, south-east of the capital Jakarta, following days of intense rainfall.

More than thirty homes were destroyed after “landslide material buried residential areas, causing fatalities and affecting local residents”, Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency said in a statement.

Flooding, landslide and extreme weather alerts have also been issued for the broader region.

The landslide hit the village of Pasirlangu around 02:30AM on Saturday [24] (19:30 GMT).

Two dozen people were evacuated safely from the affected region, according to Abdul Muhari, communication chief of the National Search Agency.

Images shared by local news outlets showed homes buried under mud and debris.

[BBC]

Foreign News

Alleged drug kingpin and ex-Olympian Ryan Wedding arrested after years on the run

Published

23 hours ago

2026/01/24

Priyan

Wedding, seen in an undated photo released by the FBI

Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder and alleged drug kingpin Ryan Wedding has been arrested in Mexico and will be extradited to the US after years on the run, FBI Director Kash Patel has said.

Wedding, who had been on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, is accused of running a transnational drug trafficking operation that moved tonnes of cocaine across international borders.

Wedding, 44, was also wanted on murder charges. US officials had said they believed Wedding was living in Mexico under the Sinaloa drug cartel’s protection.

The head of Canada’s federal police force, which assisted in the investigation, spoke alongside Patel on Friday to praise the law enforcement operation.

Wedding is accused of running a vast drug trafficking operation responsible for importing some 60 metric tonnes of cocaine a year.

The organisation operated across North America, as well as several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, and was also the largest supplier of cocaine to Canada, bringing in an estimated $1bn a year.

Before he was arrested, Wedding was accused of killing a federal witness in a case against him. Officials say he has also ordered the murders of several others.

Wedding is now facing a slew of felony charges, including witness tampering and intimidation, murder, money laundering and drug trafficking.

The FBI had previously placed a $15m (£11m) reward for information leading to his arrest. Patel declined to comment on whether anyone would be claiming the reward money.

US officials have released limited details regarding how Wedding was captured, except to say that his arrest took place on Thursday night in Mexico City.

Mexico’s top security official, Omar García Harfuch, said in a post on X that Patel had visited Mexico City on Thursday, and departed with two fugitives on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list.

He did not name the men arrested, but said one was a “Canadian citizen who voluntarily surrendered” at the US embassy in Mexico.

The Associated Press, citing an unnamed Mexican Security Cabinet member, reported that Wedding is the Canadian who turned himself in at the US embassy.

In his remarks at a news conference, Patel described Wedding as a “modern-day Pablo Escobar”, referring to the Colombian cartel leader. US officials have also compared him to Mexican drug dealer Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

“When you go after a guy like Ryan Wedding, it takes a united front,” Patel said, thanking Canadian and Mexican authorities for their help in the investigation.

Patel also thanked the FBI Hostage Rescue Team, who participated in taking Wedding into custody.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Patel praised the team, which had also been involved in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro weeks earlier.

“This was a complex, high-stakes operation with zero margin for error,” Patel told the magazine.

“I was on the ground with our team in Mexico and witnessed extraordinary teamwork, precision, and trust between our agents and partners in Mexico.”

Wedding’s aliases include “El Jefe,” “Giant,” “Public Enemy,” “James Conrad King,” and “Jesse King”, the FBI said. He has reportedly had plastic surgery to change his appearance while on the run.

Officials allege that he launched his criminal enterprise following his release from a US federal prison in 2011, where he was serving a sentence for cocaine distribution.

Authorities allege he has ordered dozens of murders across the globe, including in the US, Canada and Latin America.

Getty Images Sign showing $15m reward for Ryan James Wedding — *The FBI had offered a $15m reward for Ryan Wedding (BBC)*

It is unclear to whom the medals belong. Wedding competed for Canada in the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, but did not win any medals. He came in 24th place in the men’s giant parallel slalom ski event.

In November, the FBI seized his rare 2002 Mercedes CLK-GTR, which had been valued at $13m.

Patel also spoke about the recent arrest of another man in Mexico who had been on the FBI’s most wanted list.

American man Alejandro Castillo was wanted for the murder of his ex-girlfriend. According to the FBI, he has been in hiding in Mexico for nearly 10 years, and will now be extradited back to North Carolina for trial.

(BBC)