Australian Border Force agents found 1.6 tonnes of methylamphetamine and 37 kilograms (81.5 pounds) of heroin in vacuum-sealed packages lodged inside the speakers after the shipment arrived in Melbourne, they said.

“This is the largest meth bust we’ve ever seen in this country,” border force commander Craig Palmer said.

The haul size demonstrates “the brazen nature of those involved in this criminal activity,” he added.

No arrests were made in connection with the smuggling operation and police appealed to the public for leads on who was involved.

Palmer said the seized ice had a street value of Aus$1.2 billion and was the equivalent of 10 percent of all the drugs seized by the border force in the previous year.

The body has been preserved in good condition, still having its muscles and internal organs. The discovery is expected to help advance research on its biology.

According to Suzuki, the cave lion was found in July last year in the Republic of Sakha in northeastern Siberia. The creature is about 40 centimeters long and weighs about 800 grams, and is believed to be a female newborn cub. The result of an age measurement showed that this specimen lived about 30,000 years ago. An analysis by computerized tomography (CT) revealed that the animal still has its brain, lungs, heart and other organs, in addition to its muscles.

The research team found a total of three cave lions in Siberia in 2015 and 2017. This most recent find is in such good condition that it was the first time organs were able to be identified so clearly in an example of the species.

“We’d like to compare it to lions that exist today, estimate how it grew and decode its DNA,” Suzuki said.

In addition to the cave lion, the team found the head of a wolf believed to be about 30,000 years old in permafrost soil nearby. The head was also in very good condition, and it is the first time that an ancient wolf with muscles and brain preserved has been discovered.

The aim is to promote TAT’s “I Love the Rain” campaign where travelers can fly at affordable price air ticket or attractive price for accommodations and chances to win prize valued over millions Baht.

The promotion is available on eight domestic routes: Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, Ubon Ratchathani, Phuket, Krabi and Surat Thani. Prices start at 900 Baht per person/trip (all inclusive), with full service provided, including in-flight meals and beverages and free baggage allowance. Tickets are available only at  www.thaismileair.com , reservation can be made from 7-9 June 2019, travelling from 7 June – 30 September 2019.

Travelers are able to register via the TAT’s Line account @iLoveTheRain to get chances to win prizes such as Toyota Fortuner and giveaways valued at 3 million Baht.  For more information please visit https://www.thaismileair.com/campaigns/ilovetherain.

The rider, Suffian Hadi, lamented how he had only received a single delivery order in the two hours he had been working on Tuesday (June 4).

His mood was further soured when a heavy downpour started in Kuala Lumpur at about 5.30pm. He did not have a raincoat and was stranded taking shelter under a bridge.

He then received an order to deliver some food to a customer in Sungai Wang Plaza.

“I informed the customer, William (Chai), that it was raining, and he told me to be careful and wait until the rain subsided,” Suffian wrote in a Facebook post.

He added that after an hour, the rain still had not let up and he called the customer again.

The customer then asked Suffian to deliver the food as he had only been munching on biscuits to stave off his hunger.

Suffian relented and decided to brave the downpour and make the delivery as he felt sorry that William had been waiting so long for his food.

“After picking up the food and delivering it to Chai, he invited me into his optical shop and he bought me a packet of nasi lemak with chicken rendang and squid sambal as well as a cup of coffee to break fast,” said Suffian.

William then gave him the receipt for the food and to Suffian’s surprise, he found RM200 rolled up within it as duit raya (money).

“I felt blessed. He hugged me several times and said ‘I know your job is difficult and risky’,” recounted Suffian.

He added that after delivering the food to Chai, he began to receive regular delivery orders into the rest of the night.

“What I learnt from this is to be sincere when doing your job. Blessings will come from Allah. Do not give up nor forget to pray and give glory (to Allah)” he wrote.

Suffian, who is spending Hari Raya in Kuala Lumpur, also advised others not to be prejudicial and judge others based on the colour of their skin alone.

He shared his experience on the GrabFood & GrabExpress Rider Malaysia Facebook group and his post received almost 1,000 Likes and has been shared over 200 times at press time.

Many commenters praised Chai for his generosity, with some saying that this represented the true Malaysian spirit.

When contacted by The Star, Chai said he gave the money to help Suffian reach his target for the day so he could celebrate Hari Raya.

“I want him to enjoy his Raya. I hope he is able to buy new Raya clothes with his money,” he said.

The director of the Eye Pro Vision optical shop said that he knew how riders like Suffian struggled to earn a living and decided to help with what he could.

Star Alliance on Tuesday announced the plans for THAI Smile Airways to become the next Connecting Partner in its global network, according to its press release.

The Chief Executive Board of Star Alliance, meeting on the sides of the 75^th IATA Annual General Meeting in Seoul,  approved the application of THAI Smile Airways to become a part the Alliance’s Connecting Partner model.

The Connecting Partner model was established by Star Alliance in June 2016 to complement its membership model.

In contrast to full membership in the Alliance, requiring building of commercial ties with all full members, the more regional Connecting Partner scope calls for commercial relationships with a minimum of three carriers only.

Customers travelling on an itinerary which includes a transfer between a Star Alliance member airline and a Connecting Partner will be offered standard Alliance benefits such as passenger and baggage through check-in. In addition, customers who have achieved Star Alliance Gold Status in their frequent flyer programme will enjoy premium customer benefits.

Once all entry requirements are fulfilled, which is expected by the end of the year, THAI Smile Airways will become the second Connecting Partner, joining Juneyao Airlines that entered in 2017.

Connecting Partners allow Star Alliance to close network gaps that may exist of a regional basis. THAI Smile Airways will add 11 new destinations to the Star Alliance network, which already comprises over 1,300 airports in 194 countries.

Jeffrey Goh, Star Alliance CEO said: “Three years after the introduction of the new programme, I am pleased to announce that THAI Smile is set to become the next Star Alliance Connecting Partner, which will support us in further strengthening our position as the leading airline alliance network.

The partnership with our first Connecting Partner, Juneyao Airlines, has exceeded our mutual expectations and we look forward to providing our customers with even more choice through the addition of the THAI Smile Airways offer”.

Charita Leelayudth, Acting CEO, THAI Smile Airways said: “We are delighted that the Star Alliance Chief Executive Board has given the green light for THAI Smile to proceed with our proposal to become a Star Alliance Connecting Partner. This gives us the unique opportunity to contribute to and benefit from the strong Alliance network and at the same time pursue our own business model, providing superior air travel experience for the modern travellers at affordable prices.”

The Bangkok based airline has begun to implement the necessary technology and commercial links which will allow THAI Smile to begin serving Star Alliance connecting passengers in 2020.

As of then, the airline will be offering the privileges to qualifying Star Alliance Gold Status passengers travelling on connecting itineraries, including Priority Check-in, Thai Smile Lounge Access, and Priority Baggage Delivery, according to its press release.

    Duterte is notorious for his foul-mouthed speeches that include insults, threats to perceived enemies and references to rape that he casts as jokes.

The latest unfiltered comments came during an appearance before the Filipino community in Tokyo last week.

During his speech Duterte appeared to say that one of his high-profile critics, Senator Antonio Trillanes, was gay.

    “Trillanes and I are similar. But I cured myself,” the president said.

The president explained that he “became a man again” after meeting his now ex-wife.

“So beautiful women cured me,” he added.

Duterte has a wavering record when it comes to gay rights. During his campaign for president in 2016 he voiced support for same sex marriage, but later backtracked.

He has also used homosexuality as an insult, including against Philip Goldberg, then US ambassador to Manila.

Bahaghari, a gay and transgender advocacy group, said Duterte’s comments were dangerous and retrograde.

“It is symptomatic of an even graver illness: one of ignorance, prejudice and hate,” the group said in an statement.

“These statements, like his perverted and offensive comments on women, cannot be taken lightly or dismissed merely as jokes,” the group added.

The World Health Organization and American Psychiatric Association consider homosexuality as a sexual orientation and not a disorder.

The Philippines has a reputation for openness toward homosexuality, but watchdogs warn legal protections are lacking.

At the same time, the Catholic Church is a powerful force in the nation where the majority of its 106 million people are counted as believers.

Abortion and divorce are both illegal, due in part to fierce resistance to change from the church.

The State of Running 2019 study carried out by athletic shoe review site Run Repeat and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), analysed some 107.9 million race results from over 70,000 events.

The results include participants from 209 countries participating in running events between 1986 and 2018.

In the study, Malaysia was placed ‘the slowest in half marathons (HM, 21km) and (full) marathons (FM, 42.195km).

The top performer for HM is Russia with an average timing of 1 hour, 45 minutes, and 11 seconds, followed by Belgium (01:48:01) and Luxembourg (01:50:20), while Spain is the top performing country for FM with the timing of 3 hours, 53 minutes and 59 seconds, followed by Switzerland (03:55:12) and Portugal (03:59:31).

In the study for slowest nations in HM, Malaysia is joined by Thailand (02:24:56) and Vietnam (02:30:20), while Vietnam (05:19:34) and the Philippines (05:25:35) are amongst the slowest nations in the FM category.

However, the study noted that its dataset covers “96% of the United States race results, 91% of the race results from the European Union, Canada, and Australia and a smaller sample from Asian, Africa, and South America.”

The Star decided to compare the results of top Malaysian runners for both FM and HM categories in two events: The Penang Bridge International Marathon 2018 and Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2018.

In the PBIM 2018, the top male Malaysian in the FM category is Nik Fakaruddin Ismail, who clocked in at 02:45:54, while the HM category top male Malaysian is S. Poovansanthan, who finished at 01:16:46.

The results can be viewed here

For the SCKLM 2018, the top male Malaysian in the FM category is Muhaizar Mohamad (02:37:03), while the top Malaysian man in the HM category is Anas Rosli (01:14:58), with the results viewable here

A typical FM held in Malaysia has a qualifying time of between seven hours and eight hours, while the qualifying time for a HM is usually between three hours, 30 minutes and four hours.

For example, The Penang Bridge International Marathon stated in its website that the qualifying time for its FM and HM categories are seven hours and three hours and 30 minutes respectively, while the Standard Chartered KL Marathon, the qualifying times are seven hours and 15 minutes, and three hours and 30 minutes for FM and HM categories respectively.

The PBIM 2019 will be held on Nov 24, at the Queensbay Mall outdoor carpark in Bayan Lepas, Penang, while SCKLM 2019 will be held on Sept 29 at Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur.

Based on the results, the study came out with several conclusions, including:

>> 10km runs are popular in Asia, Africa and South America, while 5km runs and HM are popular in US and EU respectively.

>> For the first time in history, there are more female than male runners.

>> Male runners have never been slower.

>> Racing in non-English speaking countries is on the rise.

>> Motives for running are potentially changing.

The American aviation giant, which has been rocked by an unprecedented crisis after its entire 737 MAX 8 fleet was grounded in mid-March, said a subcontractor informed it of problems with a batch of a part involved in deploying the wings’ leading edge.

The leading edge of an aircraft is key to takeoff and landing because it is meant to improve the wing’s drag and therefore the jet’s aerodynamics.

Boeing said in a statement that it had relayed the defective lot number to aircraft owners so they can inspect the parts in question.

If operators find the defective parts on their aircraft, they should replace them before putting the plane back in service, the company said.

“This is a device considered critical because if the leading edge slats don’t deploy symmetrically, there could be a lift differential that can be dangerous especially on takeoff and landing,” one aeronautics expert told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The planes were grounded after a combined 346 people died in two deadly crashes, the first in Indonesia in October followed by one in Ethiopia in March.

Long considered a “gold standard” internationally, the US Federal Aviation Administration’s reputation has suffered amid scrutiny of its oversight process and reports it allowed Boeing to effectively self-certify some features of the MAX.

Boeing is working on a software fix that will allow the MAX 8 to begin flying again, but differences have arisen between the United States and Canada on how to train pilots on the software after the update.

Washington believes training on computers or tablets is sufficient for seasoned pilots, but Ottawa wants to require training on flight simulators.

KUALA TERENGGANU: Excitement is running high as people gather in droves to take a closer look at the first drawbridge in South-East Asia, which connects Kuala Terengganu and Kuala Nerus.

A check found that the intersection entering the 638m drawbridge was filled with cars from both directions.

As soon as the cone was lifted at 7am yesterday, motorists honked excitedly as they were among the first to set foot on the bridge.

Many visitors also stood by the side of the road to take pictures and videos.

“When I learned that it would be opened today, I was excited. After performing subuh prayers, I quickly come here,” she said.

Another resident, 38-year-old Muhammad Sollehin Yunus, was happy as the travel time from his house at Seberang Takir to the city had been reduced to only 10 minutes.

“Before this, I had to take a longer route to Kuala Terengganu. Now, I only need to go through the roundabout near Pantai Teluk Ketapang and continue to the drawbridge to reach the city,” he said.

The drawbridge, which features two 16-storey tall towers, will open for a test run until June 17.

East Coast Economic Region Development Council senior manager Razlee Hassan said they estimated that 300 to 400 vehicles would use the drawbridge yesterday.

However, he said, the public were not allowed to walk on the bridge to take photographs as the pedestrian route was still closed.

“At the moment, pedestrians are not allowed as the bridge’s temporary opening is only for traffic trials and open to vehicles only to ease traffic congestion. We will announce the official opening date on June 17,” he said.

In conjunction with Hari Raya Aidilfitri, the surroundings of the drawbridge will be decorated with coloured lights from tomorrow to June 7.

“When I learned that it would be opened today, I was excited. After performing subuh prayers, I quickly come here,” she said.

Another resident, 38-year-old Muhammad Sollehin Yunus, was happy as the travel time from his house at Seberang Takir to the city had been reduced to only 10 minutes.

“Before this, I had to take a longer route to Kuala Terengganu. Now, I only need to go through the roundabout near Pantai Teluk Ketapang and continue to the drawbridge to reach the city,” he said.

The drawbridge, which features two 16-storey tall towers, will open for a test run until June 17.

East Coast Economic Region Development Council senior manager Razlee Hassan said they estimated that 300 to 400 vehicles would use the drawbridge yesterday.

However, he said, the public were not allowed to walk on the bridge to take photographs as the pedestrian route was still closed.

“At the moment, pedestrians are not allowed as the bridge’s temporary opening is only for traffic trials and open to vehicles only to ease traffic congestion. We will announce the official opening date on June 17,” he said.

In conjunction with Hari Raya Aidilfitri, the surroundings of the drawbridge will be decorated with coloured lights from tomorrow to June 7.