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MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Ben Simmons‘ new contract extension with the Philadelphia 76ers came with bad news for Australian basketball fans: The Melbourne-born NBA All-star won’t play for the Boomers at the World Cup.
Hours after Simmons and the 76ers agreed to a $170 million, five-year contract extension on Tuesday, Simmons said he preferred to spend time with his new teammates in September instead of travelling to China for the Aug. 31-Sept. 15 World Cup.
“I wanted to let everyone know that after consulting with my representation, I’ve made the difficult decision to forego playing in the World Cup in China,” Simmons said in a statement.
“Ultimately, we decided it was best that I use the time in September to return to Philadelphia to acquaint myself with my new teammates and prepare for the upcoming NBA season.”
Simmons had been selected for Australia’s World Cup squad and had earlier indicated he planned to play the tournament in China.
He now plans to play only for the Boomers in two exhibition games against the United States in Melbourne on Aug. 22 and 24 at a stadium that is expected to be sold out – 50,000 fans – for each game. He also said the Olympics next year in Tokyo remain on his schedule.
“I will still be heading back home to Australia to host my camps as well as train and play with the Boomers in the upcoming exhibition games,” Simmons said. “I’m really excited about the talent we have on the Boomers squad, especially moving closer to 2020 where I will be honored and humbled to represent my country on the world’s biggest sporting stage at the Olympics in Tokyo.”
Simmons was the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2016. He made his NBA debut in the 2017-18 season and was the Rookie of the Year. He was an All-Star for the first time last season. He has averaged 16.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.9 assists in his two seasons.
Australia’s World Cup lineup is set to feature San Antonio’s Patty Mills, Joe Ingles of Utah Jazz, Phoenix center Aron Baynes, Cleveland’s Matthew Dellavedova, former No. 1 draft pick Andrew Bogut, Detroit center-forward Thon Maker and Simmons’ 76ers teammate Jonah Bolden.
The Australian government has called on China to allow an ethnic Uighur mother and son to leave the country, following a public plea from the child's father.
Rights groups say China is holding about a million Uighurs and other Muslims in detention camps. China says they are "vocational training centres".
Sadam Abudusalamu, an ethnically Uighur Australian, has called for his wife and toddler son - whom he has never met - to be allowed to join him in Sydney.
China has not commented on the request.
Mr Abudusalamu successfully obtained Australian citizenship for his son Lutfy - who is almost two - earlier this year. Lutfy's mother, Nadila Wumaier, is a Chinese national.
The 29-year-old man has spent months campaigning to be reunited with his family, but did not reveal his identity until this week - when he gave an interview on public broadcaster ABC.
Since then, Mr Abudusalamu said his wife had been briefly detained and released by Chinese authorities in the far western region of Xinjiang.
On Wednesday, Australian embassy officials in Beijing formally requested that Ms Wumaier and Lutfy be permitted to come to Australia.
Mr Abudusalamu told the BBC he felt positive about Australia's diplomatic efforts, but "as a father and husband I still need more".
He said that included his hopes for Australian and Chinese ministers to talk directly, and for Australian officials to be given access to his son in the city of Urumqi.
Before he made his identity public, Mr Abudusalamu said he feared that his son could be placed in state care and adopted by another family if he remained in China.
He and Ms Wumaier were childhood sweethearts who married in Xinjiang in 2016 after he had sought asylum in Australia and spent years living there.
Last week, Australia was among 22 countries who signed a joint letter criticising China's treatment of ethnic Uighurs.
Media playback is unsupported on your device
The letter cited reports of "large-scale places of detention, as well as widespread surveillance and restrictions, particularly targeting Uighurs and other minorities in Xinjiang".
China has consistently rejected such allegations and argues it is trying to combat extremism in the region.
Last week UN ambassadors from 37 countries, including North Korea, Russia and Saudi Arabia, released a counter letter defending China policies in Xinjiang.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said her nation did not have consular access to Ms Wumaier because she was a Chinese citizen.
The Australian government has called on China to allow an ethnic Uighur mother and son to leave the country, following a public plea from the child's father.
Rights groups say China is holding about a million Uighurs and other Muslims in detention camps. China says they are "vocational training centres".
Sadam Abudusalamu, an ethnically Uighur Australian, has called for his wife and toddler son - whom he has never met - to be allowed to join him in Sydney.
China has not commented on the request.
Mr Abudusalamu successfully obtained Australian citizenship for his son Lutfy - who is almost two - earlier this year. Lutfy's mother, Nadila Wumaier, is a Chinese national.
The 29-year-old man has spent months campaigning to be reunited with his family, but did not reveal his identity until this week - when he gave an interview on public broadcaster ABC.
Since then, Mr Abudusalamu said his wife had been briefly detained and released by Chinese authorities in the far western region of Xinjiang.
On Wednesday, Australian embassy officials in Beijing formally requested that Ms Wumaier and Lutfy be permitted to come to Australia.
Mr Abudusalamu told the BBC he felt positive about Australia's diplomatic efforts, but "as a father and husband I still need more".
He said that included his hopes for Australian and Chinese ministers to talk directly, and for Australian officials to be given access to his son in the city of Urumqi.
Before he made his identity public, Mr Abudusalamu said he feared that his son could be placed in state care and adopted by another family if he remained in China.
He and Ms Wumaier were childhood sweethearts who married in Xinjiang in 2016 after he had sought asylum in Australia and spent years living there.
Last week, Australia was among 22 countries who signed a joint letter criticising China's treatment of ethnic Uighurs.
Media playback is unsupported on your device
The letter cited reports of "large-scale places of detention, as well as widespread surveillance and restrictions, particularly targeting Uighurs and other minorities in Xinjiang".
China has consistently rejected such allegations and argues it is trying to combat extremism in the region.
Last week UN ambassadors from 37 countries, including North Korea, Russia and Saudi Arabia, released a counter letter defending China policies in Xinjiang.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said her nation did not have consular access to Ms Wumaier because she was a Chinese citizen.
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Four children packed fishing rods and money into a 4x4 before illegally driving themselves more than 900km (560 miles) across Australia, police say.
The three boys and a girl - all aged 10-14 - were discovered safe in the New South Wales town of Grafton on Sunday.
They had left Gracemere, in Queensland, sometime earlier in the weekend. One boy reportedly wrote a note to his family to say he was leaving.
Police said they would lay charges, but did not specify which ones.
The children were not all from the same family and had stolen the 4x4 from one of their parents, authorities said.
Early on Sunday, about 140km into their journey, the group stopped at a service station in the town of Banana and allegedly stole petrol.
An employee there told Sydney's Daily Telegraph that security video had shown the vehicle driving in "like normal" before someone got out to fill up.
"He is really short. Look he barely even reaches the window," the service station attendant said.
Later that day, police spotted the vehicle in Glen Innes - a town near Grafton - and began pursuing it. However, officers stopped the chase due to concerns about the driver's age.
The vehicle was later spotted on the side of a road in Grafton, according to Insp Darren Williams from New South Wales Police.
"[The children] locked themselves in the car and police have had to use a baton to get into the vehicle to arrest them," he said, reported the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Insp Williams said the group had most likely shared the driving. A non-stop trip between Gracemere and Grafton would typically take about 10 hours.
"It's a pretty big journey, and it's a long way for a young person," he said.
Police said they would question the children once their parents were present.
Motorists must be aged 17 or older to be eligible for a licence in Queensland and New South Wales.
Australian police say preliminary DNA testing has identified remains of a French backpacker who disappeared five months ago.
Erwan Ferrieux, 21, went missing along with a British backpacker, Hugo Palmer, north of Sydney. Mr Palmer, 20, remains unaccounted for.
Authorities believe the pair may have drowned while swimming at a beach.
Bones recovered from the sea match Mr Ferrieux's DNA, police said, adding further testing would be "conclusive".
Mr Ferrieux and Mr Palmer, from East Sussex, had been travelling together along the New South Wales coast when they disappeared.
The alarm was raised on 18 February after items belonging to the men - including towels and sunglasses - were found on Shelly Beach. The pair's hire car was discovered nearby.
An air and sea search was conducted in February, but no trace of either man was found until spear fishermen discovered the three bones at neighbouring Flynns Beach last month.
Police said one more bone was discovered at a separate beach on Sunday. It would undergo forensic testing in the coming weeks.
It is believed Mr Palmer and Mr Ferrieux had been travelling in Australia since November last year.
