Tag Archives: Canberra

The Australian government has announced that military personnel who will stay in uniform after completing the three-year compulsory service will receive A$50,000 ($33,165), amid rising tensions between its ally the US and China. Referring to a retention problem, Defense Minister Richard Marles said on Tuesday the bonus comes as the …

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 …

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday announced an 18-month ban on Australians traveling abroad will be lifted from next month, easing one of the toughest COVID-19 restrictions imposed globally. Reopening the international border for citizens and permanent residents will be linked to the establishment of home quarantine in Australia’s …

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 …

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 …

China has made an appeal to the World Trade Organization (WTO) over historic duties introduced by Australia concerning three Chinese products as part of a crackdown on unfair trade practices, including dumping.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his government wants to restart dialog with Beijing, as a series of trade reprisals from China strain the already-weakened relationship between the two countries. “We, of course, would like to see the dialog that was occurring to continue again and start again, Morrison said …

Australia’s second-most populous state Victoria on Sunday reported two new locally acquired COVID-19 cases, with the low number raising hopes that a hard lockdown in the state’s capital Melbourne will be eased on June 10. Two other new cases were reported on Sunday by an aged care home, but the …

Australia’s second-most populous city began a six-week lockdown on Thursday following a spike in new coronavirus cases, as states around the country tightened internal borders to prevent a second wave sweeping the country. Australia has avoided the high casualty numbers of other countries to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed …

An Australian man has been sentenced to death in China, authorities said on Saturday, a development that could further escalate tensions between the two countries. Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing consular assistance to the man, without identifying him. Australian and Chinese media have identified …

Australia is set for its first recession in 29 years as the country feels the impact of the virus pandemic. Official figures show that the economy shrank by 0.3% in the first three months of the year, amid bushfires and the early stages of the outbreak. Economists expect data for …

‘This has been a good firefighting day for us, in terms of protecting our cultural assets and critical infrastructure,’ say authorities Firefighters in Australia have managed to keep uncontrolled blazes from reaching suburban areas of the country’s capital city, Canberra, using airdrops of fire retardant. Authorities said three drops of …

Large swathes of southeast Australia were bracing on Thursday for a days-long heatwave that threatens to stoke bushfires that have been burning for months. As firefighters and residents prepared for the heightened danger, the New South Wales (NSW) state government launched a six-month inquiry to examine both the causes of …

The bodies of three U.S. flying firefighters and the cockpit voice recorder from the water bomber in which they died battling Australia’s unprecedented wildfire crisis were retrieved on Saturday as their grieving families arrived in Sydney, officials said. Ian McBeth of Great Falls, Montana, Paul Clyde Hudson of Buckeye, Arizona, …

Sydney and parts of New South Wales were placed under a “severe” fire alert Wednesday after authorities ordered evacuations for residents in the Australian capital of Canberra. The NSW Rural Fire Service said more than 60 fires are burning across the state, and with temperatures near 100 degrees, Fahrenheit coming …

Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the United States has not requested to deploy intermediate-range missiles in his country, stressing that such a request will be met with rejection. “It’s not been asked to us, not being considered, not been put to us. I think I can rule a line …

Police in Australia has raided the headquarters of the Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC) over a report that used leaked information to reveal the killing of civilians in Afghanistan by Australian forces. The police raided and searched the public broadcaster’s offices in Sydney on Wednesday, specifically targeting three journalists involved in …