At least a dozen consulates and seven foreign embassies in Australia have received suspicious packages, CNN reported Wednesday.
The consulates for the U.S., U.K, Croatia, New Zealand, and Switzerland in Melbourne were all reportedly sent suspicious items. Packages were also delivered to unspecified consulate offices in the capital city of Canberra. It is not known which Canberra offices were targeted, The Guardian reports.
Some packages contained what appeared to be concrete, and workers were seen carrying large bags with the words "Danger Asbestos" labeled on them, reports BBC. Peter Erb, the husband of Switzerland's honorary consul Manuela Erb, confirmed to BBC that the Swiss consulate received a small envelope labeled "asbestos."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Joseph Petrić, Croatia's consul general in Melbourne, told CNN that the consulate received a package containing three little packets. Authorities packaged the items and took them away but did not evacuate the consulate.
Emergency services in Australia are investigating the packages, with one law enforcement official telling CNN that the items "are not believed to pose an actual threat."
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
Sudoku medium: August 23, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Sudoku hard: August 23, 2025The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
