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Australia wins its biggest anti-spamming case

The Federal Court in Brisbane today imposed $6.5 million dollars in penalties against two additional respondents in an SMS spamming case. The companies were identified by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) as Jobspy Pty Ltd and Scott Mark Moles with $4 million and $2.5 million in penalties, respectively [...]

The Australian seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.7 per cent in November, as announced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today. The unemployment rate fell 0.1 per cent, from 5.8 per cent in October.

The number of people employed in November increased by 31,200 (0.3%) to 10.868 million, seasonally adjusted, the ABS reported. The rise in employment was driven by a rise in full-time employment, up 30,800 to 7.627 million.


The ABS reported the seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed decreased by 13,300 in November, standing at 653,100.

The ABS seasonally adjusted monthly aggregate hours worked series showed a rise in November, up 13.4 million hours (0.9%) to 1,536.3 million hours.

The ABS participation rate in November was 65.2 per cent, seasonally adjusted.

The ABS seasonally adjusted labour force underutilisation rate was 13.5 per cent in November, down 0.1 per cent from August.

Source: ABS

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The Philippine Embassy in Canberra reported recently that a labor delegation had successful exploratory talks with Australian officials from November 23 to 28. The group talked with the Australian officials in Canberra regarding the training and deployment of Philippine nurses to Australia, and putting the finishing touches to a draft Memorandum of Understanding on Labor Cooperation between the Philippines and South Australia [...]

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The US Federal Trade Commission has recently reported that Lance Atkinson, a New Zealand citizen and Australian resident, was ordered to pay US$15.15 million for his role in a spam gang [...]

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Peak body, the Philippine Community Council of NSW (PCC-NSW), has thrown its support behind an appeal for the Maguindanao massacre victims’ families. PCC-NSW president Ronaldo Villaver issued a call for affiliate members to open their hearts and pockets to help ease the pain of more than 30 journalists’ families brutally killed in the massacre [...]

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The Philippines was re-elected to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council under Category “C” during the 26th Session of the IMO Assembly held on November 27, Philippine Ambassador to London Antonio M. Lagdameo reported.

The Philippines obtained 124 votes and placed fifth in a field of 26 candidate-states vying for 20 seats. It has been a member of the IMO since 1964, and started serving in the Council in 1997.

Category “C” is composed of states which have special interests in maritime transport or navigation, and whose election to the Council will ensure the representation of all major geographic areas of the world.

The other countries elected in Category “C” are Singapore, Turkey, Cyprus, Indonesia, Malta, Egypt, Nigeria, Malaysia, South Africa, Chile, Mexico, Denmark, Bahamas, Kenya, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Australia, Jamaica, Belgium, and Thailand.

Noting that Filipinos account for more than 20 percent of the world’s maritime manpower, Ambassador Lagdameo said, “The IMO shall always be an important international organization where the Philippines intends to be active. As the primary source of globally competitive seafarers, we have to be in the IMO Council in order to advocate for better treatment and conditions for the world’s seafarers.”

The Philippines has been widely recognized as the voice of the seafarers.

“Our re-election to the Council would not have been possible without the support and trust given by an overwhelming number of governments represented in IMO for which we shall always be grateful,” he added.

The IMO Assembly is expected to conclude its session by December 4 after reviewing all the recommendations submitted by its various committees and sub-committees.

Its primary committee, the Maritime Safety Committee, is chaired by Filipino diplomat Neil Frank Ferrer.

The IMO is the United Nation’s specialized agency on maritime issues. Its primary purpose is to develop and maintain a comprehensive regulatory framework for shipping and its remit today includes safety, environmental concerns, legal matters, technical co-operation, maritime security and the efficiency of shipping.

Source: Department of Foreign Affairs

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Sydney-based band Sweet Mojo continued its fund-raising tour of southern Luzon entertaining plain townsfolk. Lead guitarist Oliver Gadista, keyboard player-guitarist Joel Townsend and drummer Topz Legaspi even performed impromptu numbers [...]

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