Latest news with #Asi
Daily Mail
30-04-2025
- Daily Mail
Footy star learns his fate after trying to smuggle almost $1million worth of meth to pay off debts from his cocaine addiction
A former semi-professional rugby union star has been sentenced to four years and 22 days in prison after he pleaded guilty to trafficking nearly $1million worth of methamphetamine across the South Australian border from New South Wales. Tiueti Asi, 33, who was born in New Zealand, had incurred a 'substantial debt to drug dealers' which Judge Jane Schammer said had arisen from his addiction to cocaine and had been transporting the methamphetamine to 'wipe the debt'. Described as a talented rugby player, the back-row forward appeared in the South Australian District Court earlier in April where he was sentenced. He is expected to spend at least two years behind bars, with his sentence being backdated to his arrest, following his early guilty plea. He will be eligible for parole in 2026. The former rugby star and a father of two, most recently played for the Hunter Wildfires in New South Wales and was named the club's 'Wildfire of the Year' in 2023. Asi was arrested on September 17, 2024. He was driving a Suzuki Swift along the Princes Highway in Tailem Bend when he was stopped by police officers and searched. Officers from South Australia Police's Serious and Organised Crime Branch, the Australian Federal Police and NSW Police with Murray Mallee patrols found that Asi was transporting 8kg of methamphetamine and more than $3000 in cash. The father of two had been charged with one count of trafficking a large commercial quantity of a controlled drug, a charge he later pleaded guilty to. The charge carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment. When handing down sentencing, Judge Schammer detailed that Asi was also found to have been carrying three mobile phones and had substances which weighed between 991 and 995g. 'You had incurred a substantial debt to drug dealers arising from your previous addiction to cocaine. You agreed to transport the drugs to South Australia, driving from your home in New South Wales via Victoria, in order to wipe that debt,' Judge Schammer said. 'You feared you would be caught but took the risk to participate. Your fears were ultimately realised.' The substances, which were sealed in eight individual packages, were stored in a black backpack found on his back seat. 'Each package contained mixed methamphetamine, with the respective weights of those substances ranging between 991 and 995g. In a bum bag in the front passenger footwell were personal items belonging to you, together with $3,720 in cash. You were found to be carrying three mobile phones, which were all seized. 'At that time, if sold in similarly packaged quantities, those drugs had a market value of between $720,000 and $840,000. If sold in smaller quantities, the drugs had a considerably higher market value.' Described by the judge as a 'talented player' the footy star had enjoyed spells with West Harbour and Warringah, before joining the Wildfires in 2020. He has also enjoyed stints playing in Spain and New Zealand. Judge Schammer added: 'I accept that you are extremely ashamed and remorseful for what you have done and you feel as if you have let everyone close to you down.' The Advertiser also claims that the arrest was made as part of Australian Federal Police's (AFP) Operation Kraken - a crackdown on an encrypted communications application that is used by alleged criminals. As of December 2024, the AFP reported that more than 50 alleged criminals have been charged and $25m in assets have been restrained as part of the operation.
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pupils rise to the challenge by starting bakery
A school has created its very own bakery to sell cakes and breads direct to a coffee shop to help develop children's real-life business skills. Castle Newnham Bakery was started by GCSE hospitality and catering pupils at the Bedford school which now sells its wares to Mooch Coffee in the town. Pupil Asi, 15, said it had helped her understand "what it is like to work in the hospitality and catering industry", and she hopes to open her own bakery. Mat Dunkley, a partner at the shop, said it received two tray bakes and three loaves every week and treated the pupils "like any other supplier". The collaboration came about when Martin Jenkins, another partner at the shop, attended his son's sports day at Castle Newnham School. He purchased some sweet treats at a stall run by the catering pupils and was so impressed with the quality that he requested an order. Now, every Thursday, the pupils bake a variety of cakes after school, ranging from lemon drizzle and jam and coconut to chocolate slices and old school cake. They work in the school kitchen to comply with health and hygiene laws and regulations. They also care for a sourdough starter named "Kitty". The finished food is collected on Friday morning and taken to the store. Chloe, 14, said: "Baking for Mooch Coffee is my favourite part of the week. "I love the experience of working in the industrial kitchen and using the extra large equipment to bake the cakes each week." Precious, 15, said: "I love visiting the coffee shop at the weekend and seeing our cakes being sold to the local community." Asi said: "I would love to own a bakery when I am older, so this is the perfect experience." Mr Dunkley said: "It's just brilliant, we don't treat them any differently because they're children, we treat them like any other supplier. "I'm proud of the partnership. "We're paying for a service and it gives pupils the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in hospitality, completing the full catering cycle by also supporting the community." He said the shop was also planning to do more including collaborating with the school's performing arts department to host intimate acoustic music evenings to further enrich "the pupils' learning journey". Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. 'People think I work in a cafe at 18 but I own it' Head teacher rejects 'lost generation' label Dog joins school staff to help with Covid anxiety Castle Newnham School
BBC News
30-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Bedford school starts bakery to sell bread and cakes to café
A school has created its very own bakery to sell cakes and breads direct to a coffee shop to help develop children's real-life business skills. Castle Newnham Bakery was started by GCSE hospitality and catering pupils at the Bedford school which now sells its wares to Mooch Coffee in the town. Pupil Asi, 15, said it had helped her understand "what it is like to work in the hospitality and catering industry", and she hopes to open her own Dunkley, a partner at the shop, said it received two tray bakes and three loaves every week and treated the pupils "like any other supplier". The collaboration came about when Martin Jenkins, another partner at the shop, attended his son's sports day at Castle Newnham purchased some sweet treats at a stall run by the catering pupils and was so impressed with the quality that he requested an every Thursday, the pupils bake a variety of cakes after school, ranging from lemon drizzle and jam and coconut to chocolate slices and old school work in the school kitchen to comply with health and hygiene laws and regulations. They also care for a sourdough starter named "Kitty". The finished food is collected on Friday morning and taken to the store. Chloe, 14, said: "Baking for Mooch Coffee is my favourite part of the week."I love the experience of working in the industrial kitchen and using the extra large equipment to bake the cakes each week."Precious, 15, said: "I love visiting the coffee shop at the weekend and seeing our cakes being sold to the local community."Asi said: "I would love to own a bakery when I am older, so this is the perfect experience." Mr Dunkley said: "It's just brilliant, we don't treat them any differently because they're children, we treat them like any other supplier."I'm proud of the partnership."We're paying for a service and it gives pupils the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in hospitality, completing the full catering cycle by also supporting the community."He said the shop was also planning to do more including collaborating with the school's performing arts department to host intimate acoustic music evenings to further enrich "the pupils' learning journey". Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Asi hits 8 3-pointers, No. 25 Cowgirls use hot start, race past No. 12 Kansas State 85-55
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Anna Gret Asi drilled a career-high eight 3-pointers and scored 24 points, Stailee Heard had a double-double and No. 25 Oklahoma State blitzed No. 12 Kansas State 85-55 on Saturday. Asi had six 3s in the first half as the Cowgirls bolted to a 51-20 lead. After the Wildcats scored the first 10 points of the second half Oklahoma State reeled off 15 points. Heard had 21 points and 11 rebounds for Oklahoma State (19-4, 9-3 Big 12 Conference), which matched its largest win against a ranked team in school history. Micah Gray had 19 points. Gray and Heard both had three 3s and Asi had six assists. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Jaelyn Glenn had 13 points for the Wildcats (22-3, 10-2) and Serena Sundell had 11. The Cowgirls blitzed the Wildcats 31-9 in the opening quarter. After missing their first shot, they hit nine straight, the last four of them 3-pointers. They hit 7 of 11 behind the arc in the first quarter. The first quarter was the 11th 30-point quarter of the season for the Cowgirls and the 15th time they held an opponent to single figures. Asi was 6-of-7 shooting from distance in the first half to almost outscore the Wildcats by herself. Gray added 15 points and Heard 11, both hitting three 3s as the Cowgirls were 12 of 21 behind the arc and shot 57% overall to 23% for Kansas State. Asi had a pair of 3s in the third quarter run that gave the Cowgirls a 70-32 lead going into the fourth. Kansas State goes to Cincinnati and Arizona is a Oklahoma State on Wednesday. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women's college basketball: and
The Independent
27-01-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Gazans already enduring health issues, lack of clean water now face hazardous rubble
Hospitals and clinics destroyed. Millions of tons of debris contaminated with toxic substances, unexploded ordnance and human remains. Tens of thousands of people with injuries that will require a lifetime of care. As Gaza 's residents return to what is left of their homes, they face new risks on top of monumental health challenges. Fifteen months of war has killed more than 47,000 people, according to local health officials, displaced 90% of Gazans and reduced many areas to rubble. Clean water is in short supply and sewers, so important for protecting public health, are badly damaged spurring worries about the spread of infectious disease. Aid groups are rushing to provide food and supplies amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas as they plan the best way forward. 'You have a population with just every health need imaginable ... (who have) been unable to get access to care ... for more than a year,' said Yara Asi, an expert in global health management and visiting scholar at the FXB Center of Health and Human Rights at Harvard. 'What is that going to look like in the near future and the long term ?' Here's a look at some of the urgent health issues. Healthcare in shambles Most of Gaza's 36 hospitals were damaged or partly destroyed by Israeli bombs, with only half still partially operational, according to the World Health Organization. Almost two-thirds of health clinics aren't open. That makes it impossible to treat everyone who needs urgent and long-term care — including an estimated 30,000 people who need ongoing rehabilitation for 'life-changing injuries,' such as amputations. The WHO said that when it's safe, it'll team up with other organizations to prioritize critical services such as trauma and emergency care, primary health care and mental health support. That includes increasing hospital-bed capacity in northern and southern Gaza, and bringing in prefabricated containers to help treat patients at damaged hospitals and clinics, the WHO said. International workers also are needed to ease staffing shortages, the organization said. Asi and other experts said most hospital equipment has been destroyed, and is expensive and difficult to import. 'How are Palestinians going to import the advanced, expensive medical equipment that actually makes the hospital more than a building?' Asi said. 'That's going to take years.' Israel says Hamas is responsible for damage to the health system because the group often used hospitals to hide or gather its men. Under the current six-week ceasefire, Israel has allowed sharp increases of humanitarian supplies. But the sides have not agreed on a permanent end to the war, and Israel has not publicly laid out a postwar vision that would include plans for reconstruction and cleanup of the territory. Life-changing injuries The WHO said one-fourth of the estimated 110,000 people injured in the fighting suffered 'life-changing' injuries, including over 12,000 who need to be evacuated as soon as possible for specialized care. Among the injured are thousands of children who lost limbs and will need prosthetics and long-term care, said Marc Sinclair, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon from Dubai who has volunteered in Gaza for over a decade. He said the charity he helped start, Little Wings Foundation, will partner with the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund and a German prosthetics company that will supply containers that can be turned into workshops. They hope to begin training doctors and manufacturing prosthetics in the West Bank and move the operation to Gaza when they are able. 'The volume of injured is so huge that it's going to be an enormous task to fulfill the needs," Sinclair said. 'We're talking about children that have not just single amputations, but ... multiple amputations." Asi, from Harvard, said thousands of people also suffered traumatic injuries, including brain damage, that will require lifelong care. "And then you have those people that have regular health ailments,' she said. 'They've been unable to get access to care or medications in some cases for more than a year.' Threat of infectious disease A shortage of clean water, destroyed sanitation systems, overcrowding and missed childhood vaccinations have created ideal circumstances for spread of infectious disease, said Asi, also co-director of the Palestine Program for Health and Human Rights. She said children — many of whom experienced malnutrition and mental trauma — are a special concern. Gaza experienced a polio outbreak for the first time in decades, so it is clear that both children and adults are at risk of other infectious diseases, Asi said. She said people have described crowded living conditions, a lack of hygiene supplies and garbage and sewage in the streets. 'It's really a health catastrophe from every potential facet," she said, adding that there have been outbreaks of respiratory infections in tent camps and shelters, and many people are living with undiagnosed skin rashes and infections. Dangerous debris Experts say Palestinians returning to their homes in Gaza will be at risk from breathing dust or touching debris contaminated with toxic chemicals, asbestos and human remains, as well as munitions that never exploded. On Monday, tens of thousands of people began returning to northern Gaza as part of the ceasefire, finding piles of rubble where their homes once stood. It's critical to move quickly to identify and contain environmental hazards to 'prevent returning residents from inadvertently coming into contact with harmful pollutants' and to keep it from spreading, a United Nations Environment Programme spokesperson said. The agency plans to begin an on-the-ground assessment within two to three months, as security allows. The first priority should be for specialized teams to search for and clear unexploded ordnance, then to test air, water and soil for toxic substances, said Paul Walker, chair of the Chemical Weapons Convention Coalition and a former staff member of the House Armed Services Committee. 'People are anxious, I know, to rebuild,' he said, but returning home right now 'could be very dangerous ... I think we've got to expect as people work through the rubble there will inevitably be injuries and deaths.' But it might be difficult to convince residents to delay their return, said Asi. She said she's seen videos showing caravans of people walking 'in some cases knowing that there's nothing waiting for them but just wanting to go back to the land to recover the bodies of loved ones or to see if their house survived or what survives from their home.' ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
