Australia

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will meet his Fiji counterpart in Suva on Wednesday to press Canberra’s message that its $245 billion nuclear powered submarine program does not violate its nuclear non-proliferation commitments. Australia is party to a nuclear-free zone treaty with 12 other South Pacific nations, including Fiji, in …

The construction of nuclear submarines in Australia, under the trilateral defense pact with the United States and the United Kingdom, will generate 20,000 jobs in Australia in the next 30 years, said the local media on Monday. The details about the employment generation came in a government analysis cited by …

Australia and India made significant progress in consolidating defense and security ties during talks the leaders of the two countries held Friday in New Delhi. “Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi and I discussed an increasingly uncertain global security environment and committed to strengthening the Australia-India defense and security partnership to address …

An Australian archaeologist and two Papua New Guinea researchers held for a week by 20 armed men in a remote part of the Pacific Island nation were released on Sunday, while their captors remain at large, a local official told Reuters. Professor Bryce Barker and doctoral student Teppsy Beni from …

Canberra pushes for joint patrols with the Philippines, as Manila and Washington discuss same The Philippines and Australia have agreed to formalize their “strategic” defense engagement through an annual meeting, their defense chiefs said Wednesday, as both countries look to counter Beijing’s growing military influence especially in the South China …

New Zealand said Monday it was likely to cost billions of dollars to recover from Cyclone Gabrielle as the national state of emergency was extended by another week. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed 11 people have so far died in the wake of the devastating flash flooding and high winds …

‘Steep mountain ahead,’ prime minister says as 11 deaths confirmed so far after storm sweeps north and east of the country. At least 11 people have died and thousands are missing in New Zealand after Cyclone Gabrielle hit the North Island last week. The cyclone hit the northern part of …

Chris Hipkins, who played a leading role in New Zealand’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, emerged Saturday as the successor to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Hipkins is the only candidate nominated to lead the Labour Party following Ardern’s shock resignation earlier this week. “I’m humbled and honored to be the …

Military helicopters airlifted hundreds of people from communities cut off by “once in a century” floods in Australia’s northwest, official leading relief efforts said on Sunday, noting water covered some places “as far as the eye could see.” The crisis in the Kimberley — a sparsely populated area in Western …

The Pentagon wants a new hub for B-52s amid tensions with China The US military has devised a plan which would see nuclear-capable B-52 strategic bombers deployed in Australia on long-term rotational missions, and turn the country’s Northern Territory into a crucial military hub in Washington’s standoff with Beijing. That’s …

Medibank Private Ltd, Australia’s biggest health insurer, said on Wednesday a cyber hack had compromised the data of all of its nearly 4 million customers, as it warned of a A$25 million to A$35 million ($16 million to $22.3 million) hit to first-half earnings. It said on Wednesday that all …

Australian conservationists have launched a legal bid to block a massive gas project, saying it would harm the Great Barrier Reef by warming the planet. Claiming gas giant Woodside Energy’s Scarborough project would generate 1.37 billion tonnes of greenhouse emissions and likely harm the World Heritage-listed reef, the Australian Conservation …

While the global sea level is expected to rise 50cm by 2100, for large parts of New Zealand, it could be 1 metre because the land is sinking too. The projections, labelled “a bit terrifying” by one expert, are the result of an extensive five-year, government-funded research programme – NZ …

A senior minister has questioned the timing of Beijing’s security pact with the Solomon Islands Australia’s home affairs minister has accused China of attempting to interfere in an election set for next month, saying a recent security deal with a nearby Pacific nation suggested nefarious motives. In comments to a …

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government could lose the federal election to be held on May 21, according to polls on Monday, even as they showed him consolidating his position as the country’s preferred leader on the first day of campaigning. A Newspoll survey conducted for The Australian newspaper showed …

Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s conservative coalition trails Labor in opinion polls after nine years in power. Australia will hold a general election on May 21, Prime Minister Scott Morrison says, triggering a campaign expected to be fought over cost-of-living pressures, climate change, and questions of trust and competence of the …

Heavy rain triggered evacuation orders in Sydney on Thursday, as swollen rivers threatened homes and flooded roads in the latest wild weather to lash Australia’s east. Residents in several suburbs of Sydney’s south and southwest were told to leave for safety as fast-flowing rivers rose. “We have seen exceptionally sharp, …

At least four people have been killed and two are still missing in the wake of torrential downpours that unleashed decades-high floods in eastern Australia. Authorities in the eastern state of Queensland said on Saturday that two people have been killed overnight, bringing the death toll from the severe flooding …

Protests against New Zealand government’s COVID-19 regulations in capital Wellington have entered a second week amid growing frustration among local residents. Inspired by Canada’s so-called ‘Freedom Convoy’ anti-vaccine protests, protesters in Wellington parked cars, vans, and buses in a bid to occupy parliament grounds, despite warnings of heavy rain due to Cyclone Dovi, causing …