The man who stabbed seven people at a New Zealand supermarket has been named as Ahamed Samsudeen. The 32-year-old had been assessed by authorities as such a high risk that he was being monitored by up to 30 police officers in the weeks leading up to the attack. Samsudeen, who …
Read More »New Zealand COVID outbreak claims first death in six months, toll at 27 so far
New Zealand recorded its first COVID-related death in six months Saturday, but health authorities said there were signs the outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant was coming under control. A woman in her 90s, who had underlying health conditions and could not receive a ventilator or intensive care support, …
Read More »IS-inspired attacker shot dead after New Zealand supermarket knife rampage
New Zealand police on Friday shot dead an Islamic State-inspired attacker after he injured six people in a supermarket knife rampage, despite round-the-clock surveillance by undercover officers. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she was “gutted” the man, a Sri Lankan national, had managed to carry out his “hateful” assault even …
Read More »New Zealand reports first death linked to Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine
New Zealand reported its first recorded death linked to the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, the health ministry said on Monday after a woman suffered a rare heart muscle inflammation side effect. The report comes as the country battles an outbreak of the Delta variant of the coronavirus after nearly six months …
Read More »New Zealand keeps curbs until next week to beat Delta; Auckland shut for longer
New Zealand on Friday extended pandemic restrictions by four days after which they will be eased slightly, although businesses and schools will remain shut and the biggest city Auckland will be locked down for longer. New Zealand had been largely virus-free, barring a small number of cases in February, but …
Read More »Australia says it has evacuated 26 people from Afghanistan in first flight
Australia flew 26 people out of Afghanistan in its first rescue flight, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday, after Australian troops arrived to help with the evacuation from Kabul airport that has been secured by U.S. and British colleagues. Australia said on Monday it would send 250 military personnel …
Read More »New Zealand’s Ardern locks down nation over single COVID-19 case
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern put the nation under strict lockdown on Tuesday after one new case of the coronavirus was reported in its largest city of Auckland, the country’s first in six months. All of New Zealand will be in lockdown for three days from Wednesday while Auckland …
Read More »Sydney records deadliest day of COVID-19 pandemic, Melbourne lockdown extended
Australia’s biggest city of Sydney recorded its deadliest day of the COVID-19 pandemic on Monday as troops and police set up roadblocks to limit the movement of people, while Melbourne faced a nightly curfew and a further two weeks of lockdown. Sydney, which is in its eighth week of lockdown, …
Read More »Melbourne extends COVID lockdown; ‘no jab, no job’ in Sydney
Australia’s second-biggest city Melbourne will stay locked down for a second week after reporting 20 new COVID-19 cases as it struggles to stamp out infections caused by the highly infectious Delta variant of the pandemic. Melbourne had been due to exit the lockdown on Thursday, the sixth for its five …
Read More »Delta spreads in Sydney as Australia widens COVID-19 restrictions
Australian officials warned Sydney residents on Friday to brace for a surge in COVID-19 cases after the country’s largest city logged record infections for the second straight day despite a weeks-long lockdown to stamp out an outbreak of Delta variant. “Just based on the trend in the last few days …
Read More »Australia to offer reparations to ‘Stolen Generation’ of indigenous people
Australia says it will provide a reparation fund of 380 million Australian dollars ($280 million) for some members of its indigenous population who were forcibly removed from their families as children. Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison made the announcement during a speech to parliament about the so-called “Stolen Generation” on …
Read More »Australia records one of its youngest COVID-19 deaths as Sydney outbreak grows
Australia’s New South Wales reported one of the country’s youngest deaths from COVID-19 on Wednesday, as daily infections lingered near a 16-month high despite the lockdown of five million people in state capital Sydney entering its sixth week. The unnamed man in his 20s, who had no underlying health issues …
Read More »Australia’s Qantas airline idles 2,500 more staff as COVID-19 cuts domestic flights
Qantas Airways Ltd is temporarily idling about 2,500 employees without pay for at least two months in a bid to cope with fresh COVID-19 restrictions in Australia slashing domestic travel demand. The decision will directly impact domestic pilots, cabin crew, and airport workers, mostly in New South Wales, the airline …
Read More »Australia Tesla battery blaze under control after three days
A blaze at a massive Tesla battery site in Australia that started three days ago was brought under control on Monday, firefighters said. Emergency services were first called to the Victoria Big Battery project — built by French renewable energy firm Neoen using Tesla batteries — on Friday morning. A …
Read More »Extroverted, selfish men most likely to ignore COVID-19 regulations, study finds
Extroverted men who put their self-interests above others are most likely to ignore COVID-19 regulations, a new study published on Thursday found.
Read More »Australia avoids UNESCO downgrade of Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef will not be added to a list of World Heritage Sites that are “in danger” after a UN panel on Friday agreed to defer a vote until 2022 amid intensive lobbying by Australia. A United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) committee last month recommended …
Read More »Quake of magnitude 6 strikes Kermadec Islands region – EMSC
The subtropical island arc is situated northeast of New Zealand’s North Island. The region is located in the Ring of Fire, a seismically active zone that is regularly shaken by powerful earthquakes. A 6.0-magnitude earthquake has hit the Kermadec Islands region in the Pacific Ocean at 12:51:28.4 UTC, EMSC reported …
Read More »Arrests as anti-lockdown protesters clash with police in Sydney (Videos, Photos)
Thousands take to the streets of the Australian city to protest against lockdown restrictions amid a surge in cases. Thousands of anti-lockdown activists marched through major Australian cities on Saturday, following an extension of Covid-19 restrictions. Multiple people were arrested and dozens charged with offenses after brawls broke out. Protesters …
Read More »Australia awaits Great Barrier Reef World Heritage ruling
The World Heritage Committee was set to consider Friday whether to add the Great Barrier Reef to UNESCO’s list of endangered sites, after high-level lobbying from Australia to prevent the move. The United Nations cultural agency recommended in June that the reef’s World Heritage status be downgraded because of its …
Read More »Brisbane picked to host 2032 Olympics without a rival bid
Brisbane was picked Wednesday to host the 2032 Olympics, the inevitable winner of a one-city race steered by the IOC to avoid rival bids. The Games will go back to Australia 32 years after the popular 2000 Sydney Olympics. Melbourne was hosted in 1956. “We know what it takes to …
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