Latest news with #BritishExpat
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- Climate
- News.com.au
British expat reveals shock at Sydney's rainy weather
Each year thousands of waterlogged Brits relocate to Australia in hopes of boosting their vitamin D intake and tanning on sun-drenched beaches. However, the grass is not always greener as hapless UK expat Josh McCallion has discovered. Josh, who now lives in Sydney, has briefed his followers on the unbelievable amount of rainfall he has experienced in his new city. Since 2022, much of Australia has experienced record-breaking rainfall, leaving many newcomers taken aback. 'No one tells you this before moving to Australia,' Josh said in a video posted to Instagram. 'I am from the UK, known for terrible weather, and I have never experienced rain like I have since moving to Sydney. Every single time it rains, it's a downpour. The raindrops hit you and it's almost like you're being shot, honestly. 'I'm going to the gym and it's 400m away. It's too wet for me to want to take my bike and I can't walk in this, it's ridiculous. So I'm catching the bus.' Josh's remarks sparked a debate among fellow expats and locals over which is worse: the heavy Australian rain or the more constant light drizzle typical of the UK. 'As an Aussie living in the UK, this is one of the things I miss. REAL rain. Not the misty rubbish you get in the UK where it feels like you're constantly living under a damp tea towel,' one person wrote. 'When I lived in London I was like, what is wrong with your rain? I want to be soaking wet and extremely inconvenienced, not damp and mildly annoyed,' another said. It seems like Josh is in for a rainy few days in the Harbour City with thunderstorms forecast until Friday. There could also be flooding in parts of NSW and Queensland, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned. Senior meteorologist Dean Narramore said rain is increasing across inland parts of NSW and Queensland and would become more widespread over the coming days as weather systems combine. 'That is two to three days of rainfall in areas that are already wet and saturated,' he said. BOM forecasts up to 100mm of rain in large parts of NSW, and more rainfall to hit coastal areas. 'This is going to fall on already saturated soils, particularly in parts of NSW,' Mr Narramore said. 'We can see widespread falls across much of northern NSW in that 50 to 100mm range, with isolated falls in excess of 150mm which is why we're concerned. 'These numbers are falling on already saturated soils, catchments, dams and rivers. 'That's led to flood watches being issued across this area for minor to moderate flooding, particularly for some of our coastal and eastern NSW rivers.' He said authorities were focused on residents and communities located in inland areas, the northwest slopes, flat plains, Peel River, Gwydir River and Namoi River. 'That does include places like Gunnedah that saw major flooding only just a few weeks ago,' he said. 'The Namoi is already still experiencing moderate flooding with minor flooding continuing through the Barwon River as well.'
South China Morning Post
15-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong thrives because of, not despite, its hybridity
Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@ or filling in this Google form . Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification On a typical Sunday morning in Hong Kong, you might find a British expat sipping yuen yeung at a cha chaan teng before hiking Dragon's Back, a French architect browsing incense coils in Sheung Wan, or an American banker debating politics over craft beer. This seamless blend of East and West isn't just cosmopolitan charm – it's Hong Kong's unique value to China. As our city adopts more government-led solutions to address capitalism's excesses, we must remember what made – and still makes – Hong Kong extraordinary: the irreplaceable alchemy of individualism and opportunity. The conviction that talent outshines connections. The spirit that birthed Cantopop, Lion Rock grit and a world-class financial hub. As China pursues global leadership, Hong Kong's Western-compatible legal system, cosmopolitan lifestyle and international networks remain indispensable. We don't thrive despite our hybrid identity – we thrive because of it. Since the defeat of the anti-China radicals, official zeal for all things mainland has surged. Ironically, even mainlanders now find Hong Kong less compelling, as its international allure dims. To my local colleagues, Shenzhen had long 'bypassed' us. After working on the Chinese mainland, I saw first-hand what we can't match: vast scale, blistering speed and relentless 'involution'. However, Hong Kong's edge lies elsewhere – in integrity and institutional trust. Mainland firms tend to rise like rockets and crash just as fast; our tycoons know longevity beats spectacle.
The Independent
05-06-2025
- The Independent
‘Everybody's fed up': Inside the Algarve resort haunted by the disappearance of Madeleine McCann
On a stop sign at the entrance to Praia Da Luz, faded graffiti declares: 'STOP McCann circus.' The stencilled message - now hastily sprayed over - was once daubed on every stop sign in the town as locals reeled from the devastating impact of the British toddler's disappearance in 2007. Tourism halved in the charming Algarve resort as the mystery of Madeleine McCann turned into a media storm which they have struggled to escape ever since, according to weary residents. Now the ghost of Madeleine has returned 18 years later as German police mount fresh searches a mile away on top of dramatic volcanic cliffs overlooking the town. Many locals have their own theories about that happened the three-year-old, who vanished from a holiday apartment at Ocean Club resort while her parents had dinner nearby. And as a new three-day search led by German authorities appeared to wind down on Thursday, many expressed their frustration at 'the case that won't go away'. British expat Julia Newbould, 79, has lived in the town for 40 years after emigrating from Sheffield. 'Everybody's fed up with it – I have spoken to people of different ages and different nationalities, and everybody is feeling the same,' she told The Independent. 'It's the case that won't go away. It was terrible at first. People stopped coming and cancelled their holidays, it was devastating. 'It's always been such a peaceful place. It impacted everyone a lot originally in the year it happened and then people were slow to come back.' She isn't surprised that the search teams, who have been using ground penetrating radar and a digger to scour derelict farm buildings near where suspect Christian Brueckner used to live, appear to have found little evidence connected to Madeleine's disappearance after all this time. 'They won't find anything because the ground is rock hard,' she said. 'But they just keep bringing it up and bringing it up.' She said locals were shocked that the McCann's had left their young children unattended in a holiday apartment when they could have hired a babysitter for as little as 30 euros. 'The Portuguese couldn't believe it,' she added. 'They are very family oriented they just couldn't believe that anybody would leave children of that age.' Restaurant owner Mariana Baiao, 52, said the graffiti messages on stop signs started to appear as the impact of the case put people out of work. 'This area is very calm, it's the kind of place where families come,' she said. 'Normally we have a lot of tourism in winter and summer. In winter we have older people who come for a month or two to relax because it's very quiet. In summertime we have lots of families coming. 'When that happened we lost 50 per cent of tourism – it was really bad. A lot of people lost work. I think Praia Da Luz at that time was really safe, but then this one thing happened.' Although she's also sceptical of the latest efforts will solve the mystery, she did note the search site matches a disturbing dream Kate McCann famously recanted to police, in which Madeleine was lost on a hill overlooking Praia Da Luz. The mother was also known to jog up to the clifftop path to a viewpoint known as 'Rocha Negra' or 'Black rock', which is just metres from the remote scrubland where police are now digging. 'I am a mother and I would like to know what's really happened and see the end of this case,' Ms Baiao added. Many of the defaced stop signs have since been replaced as the memory of the case begins to fade, but a handful remain, including one just down the road from the apartment where Madeleine was last seen alive. Holidaymakers from across Europe were sunbathing by the pool inside the Ocean Club resort on Thursday, most blissfully unaware of the grim search efforts ongoing nearby. After almost two decades of media scrutiny as her unsolved disappearance has continued to make worldwide headlines, staff at the whitewashed complex said they were unable to comment on the investigation. Eric Hoffman, 78, told The Independent he had no idea he was staying at the infamous spot where Maddy vanished when he booked a two week holiday from Switzerland. 'We were surprised, we know of the case from the papers but we didn't know before we booked that it was this building,' he said. Asked about the latest searches, he added: 'It's quite difficult now to find something because it's been so long.' Investigators appeared to pack up and leave without answers at the end of the three-day search on Thursday evening, with no obvious signs of any major discoveries. Teams of German and Portuguese police officers were seen shaking hands and embracing following a debrief and started to pack up a tent at their base in the 120-acre search site in Atalaia, which was once home to farming community. One team member was seeing carrying a crate of German beer. Animal bones are reported to be among limited findings in the final hours of the search, local television station SIC reported. Other local media said some material had been gathered on Wednesday and sent for analysis to see if it contained anything relevant to the investigation. But for the people living in the resort of Praia Da Luz, the sickening mystery of the disappearance of a three-year-old toddler continues.
