Tag Archives: Sydney

Australia’s largest city of Sydney re-introduced “soft touch” COVID-19 curbs on Wednesday to contain a widening outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant, mandating masks in offices while neighboring states closed their borders. ———————————————————————————- Summary Workplace masks mandatory, home visits limited to five people Neighbouring states close borders Wellington alert …

Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales (NSW), on Tuesday, reported its biggest rise in new locally acquired COVID-19 cases in nearly a week, prompting authorities to extend a mask mandate in Sydney for a week.

Australia’s most populous city Sydney has recorded its first locally acquired case of COVID-19 in more than a month, stoking concerns of a fresh wave of infections on Wednesday. New South Wales (NSW) state said it is not clear how the unnamed man in his 60s acquired the virus, but …

Australia’s most populous state recorded no new COVID-19 infections for a third straight day on Sunday but extended raised social distancing and mask-wearing rules by a week as the authorities hunted for the source of a small outbreak. After a Sydney couple tested positive to the coronavirus last week, ending …

Some Australian residents of the city of Newcastle, 163 km (101 miles) north of Sydney, have called for a large ammonium nitrate plant, stockpiling up to four times the amount reportedly detonated in Lebanon, to be relocated. Lebanese authorities have blamed a huge stockpile of the highly explosive material stored …

Thousands of protesters gathered on Saturday in cities across Australia, shouting slogans in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and aiming to raise awareness of the mistreatment of indigenous people. Rallies in the cities of Brisbane, Darwin and Perth drew a smaller turnout than a month ago, however, amid …

Tens of thousands of Australians defied government calls to stay at home Saturday by spilling onto the streets for Black Lives Matter protests in major towns and cities across the country. Marchers in Sydney, Melbourne and elsewhere rejected arguments from law enforcement and conservative leaders that mass protests could fuel …

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 …

At least 12 people have been injured after a car crashed into a Muslim clothing shop in Sydney on Thursday afternoon. Local emergency services said 11 pedestrians and the male driver had been treated at the scene of Hijab House in Greenacre, on the corner of Waterloo and Boronia roads. …

More than two million Australians have downloaded an app to trace contacts of COVID-19 patients hours after its release, the government said on Monday, as states set out plans to expand testing for the infection. Prime minister Scott Morrison has said more testing and widespread use of the CovidSafe phone …

Australia has been through the wringer this year. The disastrous bushfire season has led to a dramatic increase in carbon emissions, crazy conspiracy theories, firefighter deaths, some billions of dollars in damage, and the heartbreaking loss of more than a billion animals. A new report shows how more a hundred …

‘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 …

Smoke from raging fires in Australia that killed at least seven people this week reached several cities in New Zealand and turned the sky orange, the New Zealand Herald newspaper reported. New Zealanders are sharing videos and photos of the thick orange smog covering the sun on social media. Residents …

Australian military aircraft and vessels will be deployed to help emergency services in the fire-ravaged states of New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria. Thousands of people fled to beaches in the south-eastern states on Tuesday as emergency-level fires spread. In Mallacoota, Victoria, about 4,000 people sought shelter on the coast. …

Volunteer firefighters in New South Wales will get compensation for loss of earnings after spending time away from jobs to battle bushfires in the state, Australia’s federal government says. The offer of up to A$6,000 ($4,200; £3,200) for privately-employed volunteers follows weeks of wrangling. PM Scott Morrison – who had …

Breathing masks are selling out in Sydney with the city enveloped in the smoke from bushfires sweeping across a large swath of Australia’s east coast, damaging the country’s clean and green reputation. Office workers wearing protective masks, previously a rarity, have become a common sight in recent weeks in downtown …

Strong winds stoked more than 100 fires across Australia’s east coast on Tuesday, blanketing Sydney in hazardous smoke and prompting health warnings for the country’s most populous city. Australia is prone to bushfires in its dry, hot summers, but fierce blazes have been sparked early, in the southern spring, by …