Jul 4, 2024
Bird flu hits McDonald's Australia breakfast hours
The fast food giant has temporarily shortened the hours of its breakfast service in the country by 90 minutes due to an egg shortage caused by a bird flu outbreak. "Like many retailers, we are carefully managing supply of eggs due to the current industry challenges," McDonald's Australia said in a statement sent to the BBC. "We're continuing to work closely with our network of Aussie farmers, producers, and suppliers, as the industry comes together to manage this challenge." Several strains...
Mar 29, 2024
KFC Nigeria sorry after disabled diner refused service
KFC Nigeria says it will train its staff on empathetic customer service. KFC Nigeria has issued an apology after the country's airport authority shut one of its outlets over the alleged discrimination of a disabled client. Adebola Daniel, son of a former Nigerian state governor Gbenga Daniel, said in a post on X that he was ordered to leave a KFC outlet at Lagos airport because of his wheelchair. In a post on X on Thursday, KFC Nigeria said sorry to Mr Daniel and announced measures to address...
Feb 20, 2024
Woolworths boss quits after TV interview
The Australian grocery chief walked out on a reporter when questioned over alleged price-gouging tactics.
Nov 8, 2023
Kmart: Australian store pulls 'Merry Ham-mas' Christmas bag
Australian supermarket chain Kmart has pulled a festive gift from its website after a complaint from a Jewish group. The Christmas food-themed bag featured the pun "Ham-mas" in large lettering. The Australian Jewish Association said it had "Politely suggested" it be removed from sale because of the unintentional likeness to Hamas, which is a proscribed terrorist group in Australia and several other countries. According to the now-deleted product page on Kmart's website, the bag featured...
Oct 26, 2023
KFC shuts Lesotho stores over South Africa bird flu
KFC has announced it is closing all its restaurants in Lesotho amid a severe outbreak of bird flu in neighbouring South Africa. KFC says its chickens come from farms in South Africa which are certified as being free of bird flu. Lesotho is a mountainous country entirely surrounded by South Africa. South Africa has been struggling to contain bird flu for several months and has culled more than seven million egg-laying hens - 20-30% of the country's entire stock. Last week, neighbouring...
Sep 29, 2023
New York City: State of emergency declared over flash flooding
A state of emergency has been declared in New York City as strong storms bring flash flooding. "I am declaring a state of emergency across New York City, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley due to the extreme rainfall we're seeing throughout the region," she said on X, formerly known as Twitter. A state of emergency was also declared in the New Jersey town of Hoboken, just across the Hudson River from New York City. In New York City, Mayor Eric Adams, warned people it was a time for...
Nov 10, 2022
KFC apologises after German Kristallnacht promotion
KFC has apologised after sending a promotional message to customers in Germany, urging them to commemorate Kristallnacht with cheesy chicken. Germany takes the 9 November anniversary of Kristallnacht seriously, with numerous memorial events and discussions scheduled to reflect the Nazis' murder of more than six million Jewish people. Daniel Sugarman, Director of Public Affairs at the Board of Deputies of British Jews described the original KFC message as "Absolutely hideous". Dalia Grinfeld,...
Sep 23, 2022
Subway murder sparks fury over South Korea’s stalking laws
The only person she confided in was her lawyer, who she last messaged on the morning of her murder, the day before her stalker's sentencing. Until last year, stalking was classed as a misdemeanour, punishable only by a small fine. Data from South Korea's National Police Agency shows that since the stalking law came into force last year, 7,152 stalking arrests have been made, but with only 5% of the suspects detained. South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol has acknowledged the country's...
Aug 31, 2022
What a Pizza Hut ad says about Gorbachev - and Russia
Because the man in the black overcoat - the man, in effect, selling American pizza - is Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union. In the advert, a middle-aged man notices the former leader and exclaims: "It's Gorbachev!" before complaining: "Because of him, we have economic confusion." No-one can argue with that, and after a second's thought the middle-aged man, previously unhappy with Russia's economic chaos, stands up, raises his pizza slice in the air and exclaims: "Hail to...
Jul 13, 2022
Australia probes retail giants Bunnings and Kmart over customer 'faceprints'
Australia's privacy watchdog has launched an investigation into two retail giants over their use of facial recognition technology. Consumer advocacy group Choice says the technology is unethical, invasive and being used without proper consent or reasoning. "While deterring theft and creating a safe environment are important goals, using high privacy impact technologies in stores carries significant privacy risks," Commissioner Falk said last month, after the use of the technology was first...
Jun 7, 2022
KFC Australia forced to swap lettuce for cabbage
Image source, KFC.Fast food giant KFC has been forced to put cabbage in its burgers and wraps in Australia as the country is struggling with a shortage of lettuce. The firm told customers it is using a mixture of lettuce and cabbage after floods destroyed lettuce crops. Social media users have posted photos of lettuces costing over A$10, three times the usual price. On its website KFC Australia said: "Due to the recent floods in NSW and QLD [Queensland] we're currently experiencing a lettuce...
Jan 8, 2022
How KFC in Kenya got fried over its chip shortage
In our series of letters from African journalists, Kenyan broadcaster Waihiga Mwaura writes about what the recent row over KFC French fries says about farming in his country. International supply chains became the hot topic here as KFC said it was unable to offer fries as it could not import its preferred pre-sliced potatoes from Egypt. The problem, apparently, was that potential local suppliers had not gone through KFC's quality assurance process that makes sure "Our food is safe for...
Nov 30, 2021
Westpac: Australian bank pays out over charging dead people
Australian banking giant Westpac has admitted to breaking the law after it was hit with six lawsuits by regulators over its poor treatment of customers, including charging fees to dead people. ASIC, Australia's corporate watchdog, said one of the six investigations found the bank had charged more than $7m in fees over a 10-year period to more than 11,000 "Deceased customers for financial advice services that were not provided due to their death." "In each of these matters, Westpac has fallen...
Sep 21, 2021
New Zealand Covid: Men caught smuggling KFC into lockdown-hit Auckland
NZ police have made a bizarre arrest after a pair of alleged gang associates were caught trying to enter Auckland with a boot full of KFC chicken and tens of thousands of dollars. Police said the men, aged 23 and 30, had travelled from Hamilton, about 75 miles south of Auckland. A police spokesperson told the BBC that officers made the arrest after they noticed a suspicious looking vehicle travelling on a gravel road on the outskirts of the city. "Upon seeing the police car, the vehicle did a...
Apr 29, 2021
Australia: Alcohol megastore near dry Aboriginal communities scrapped
Australian supermarket Woolworths has scrapped a plan for an alcohol megastore near three dry Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. In 2019, an independent liquor commission for the Territory rejected an application over concerns it would increase the risk of alcohol abuse and would be too close to the dry Aboriginal communities. Woolworths then commissioned the review, which found that the company had failed to engage sufficiently with Aboriginal groups. Danila Dilba Aboriginal...
Nov 12, 2020
Australia Post to support use of Aboriginal place names on mail
AUSTRALIA POST. Australia Post says it will support the optional use of Aboriginal place names on mail addresses, following a large grassroots campaign. While some areas are known by their original names, many Australians often have little knowledge of place names that pre-date European settlement. In its new guidelines, Australia Post says mail senders can include original names to "Acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land your item is being delivered on". Ms McPhail said she would...
Nov 2, 2020
Australia Post boss resigns over luxury watches scandal
The boss of Australia Post has resigned after authorising a A$20,000 gift of luxury watches to four employees as a work reward. Australia Post is run by an independent board but is owned by the Australian government on behalf of taxpayers. The work of those employees had secured a A$220m investment for Australia Post and "Dramatically improved" its financial performance, she added. Australia Post has played a critical role during the pandemic as the primary delivery service for goods. Prior...
Oct 1, 2020
Subway rolls ruled too sugary to be bread in Ireland
The rolls used in Subway's hot sandwiches contain too much sugar to be considered bread, according to Ireland's Supreme Court. Ireland's highest court made the ruling in a case about how the bread is taxed. The court ruled that because of the amount of sugar they contain, they cannot be taxed as a "Staple product" at a zero rate of VAT. Under Ireland's VAT Act of 1972, ingredients in bread such as sugar and fat should not exceed 2% of the weight of flour in the dough. The five judges, who...
Aug 25, 2020
KFC drops Finger Lickin' Good slogan amid coronavirus
KFC Global fast-food giant KFC says it is dropping its "Finger Lickin' Good" slogan amid the coronavirus pandemic. It has prepared new packaging with the phrase obscured, albeit lightly. "We find ourselves in a unique situation - having an iconic slogan that doesn't quite fit in the current environment," the company said. KFC said the phrase would return when the time was right. The firm closed its sites temporarily in March amid the pandemic, but most have now reopened.
Mar 17, 2020
Coronavirus: Australian supermarkets open early for elderly shoppers
Woolworths has started a special "elderly hour" for older shoppers and those with disabilities.
Sep 20, 2018
Australia strawberry scare: Woolworths halts sewing needle sales
Australian supermarket giant Woolworths has temporarily removed sewing needles from its shelves as the country faces a strawberry safety scare. Last week, Australians were warned to cut fresh strawberries before biting into them after several people found sewing needles hidden inside the fruit. Several strawberry brands have been pulled from stores across the country. Woolworths said the safety of its customers was its top priority and that pulling sewing needles from its shelves across the...