Page 25 - Australia

KEC International bags new domestic, global orders worth Rs 1,315 cr

Infrastructure company KEC International on Monday announced securing new orders totalling Rs 1,315 crore in India and international markets. The orders have been bagged by the company's Transmission & Distribution (T&D) business in the domestic market apart from clientele in Middle East, Australia and Americas, KEC International said in a regulatory filing. In India, the scope of order includes a transmission line and a substation order from Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) while the orders in Middle East, Australia and Americas are for supply of towers, hardware and poles and various types of cables. Vimal Kejriwal, MD and CEO of KEC International Ltd, said, "we are delighted with the new order wins, particularly the orders from PGCIL in Rajasthan. These orders have significantly enhanced our India T&D order book. In a noteworthy achievement, our tower supply business footprint now extends across six continents." KEC International is a global infrastructure ...

Australian watchdog fines X $385,000 for not tackling child abuse content

Australia's online safety watchdog said on Monday it had fined X the social media platform formerly known as Twitter 610,500 Australian dollars (USD 385,000) for failing to fully explain how it tackled child sexual exploitation content. Australia's eSafety Commission describes itself as the world's first government agency dedicated to keeping people safe online. The commission issued legal transparency notices early this year to X and other platforms questioning what they were doing to tackle a proliferation of child sexual exploitation, sexual extortion and the livestreaming of child sexual abuse. eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said X and Google had not complied with the notices because both companies had failed to adequately respond to a number of questions. The platform renamed X by its new owner Elon Musk was the worst offender, providing no answers to some questions including how many staff remained on the trust and safety team that worked on preventing harmful and .

Australia fines Musk's X platform $386,000 over anti-child abuse gaps

Most recently EU said it was investigating X for potential violation of its new tech rules after the platform was accused of failing to rein in disinformation in relation to Hamas's attack on Israel

Journalist detained in China for 3 yrs for espionage returns to Australia

A Chinese-Australian journalist who was convicted on murky espionage charges and detained in China for three years has returned to Australia, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Wednesday. Cheng Lei, 48, worked for the international department of China's state broadcaster CCTV. She has reunited with her two children in Melbourne, Albanese said. Her return comes ahead of Albanese's planned visit to Beijing this year on a date yet to be announced. Albanese's government has been lobbying for the release of Cheng and Yang Hengjun, another Chinese-Australian held in China since 2019. Bilateral relations have improved since Albanese's centre-left Labour Party was elected after nine years of conservative rule. Beijing has lifted several official and unofficial trade barriers on Australian exports. Albanese suggested that Cheng had recently been sentenced after she was convicted in a closed-court trial last year on national security charges. Her return brings an end to a very difficult

Australia to be partner country at Tamil Nadu global investors meet in Jan

Australia sees 'scope to do more' with Tamil Nadu in education and research, advanced manufacturing, clean energy

There was lack of aggression from Aussie batters: Finch on World Cup loss

Australian batters lacked intent and failed to play an aggressive brand of cricket against India's world class spinners, said former skipper Aaron Finch, adding they will need to bring a change in their mindset to be at the forefront. Indian spinners seized six wickets as Australia were shot out for 199 on a track offering spin and grip during a six-wicket loss in their World cup opener on Sunday. Finch feels the Australian batters were a bit over-cautious and let the Indian spinners to dominate the proceedings at the MA Chidambaram stadium. "You can't allow Jadeja, Kuldeep and Ashwin to bowl how they want to bowl on a surface like that. They're so accurate and so highly skilled - Jadeja has done it to Australia so many times now," he wrote in his column for ICC. "Part of it comes down to how India bowled spin, but we also need to look at the way that Australia batted. There was a clear plan among the group to be proactive, to try to limit dot balls and rotate strike against what t

Delhi mayor to attend 'Asia Pacific Cities Summit' in Australia from Oct 11

Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi will take part in an urban summit in Australia and present the work done by the Arvind Kejriwal government in the national capital, officials said on Sunday. The 'Asia Pacific Cities Summit' is scheduled to take place in Brisbane from October 11-13. While the theme of the summit is 'Shaping Cities for Our Future', there are three sub-themes: technology, data, development, and people's well-being, according to a statement issued by the mayor's office. Oberoi will depart for Brisbane on Monday, it said. She will present the 'model of the Kejriwal governance' to a global audience. This model showcases the work done in Delhi, Punjab, and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi under the leadership of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the statement said. She will talk about education, health, and cleanliness. The summit will facilitate the exchange of ideas and achievements among mayors, policymakers, business leaders, and more. In the 2019 edition of the Summit, ma

80% of IT services companies likely to get to 5-day work mode by FY24 end

HR experts also point that with attrition back to its level many are taking the current dip in business momentum to get its employees back in office

King Charles III's image to appear on Australian coins this year: Officials

An image of King Charles III will soon appear on Australian coins, more than a year after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, officials said Thursday. The gold Australian dollar coin will be the first with an image of the new British monarch, who is also Australia's head of state, Royal Australian Mint chief executive Leigh Gordon said. About 10 million of the dollar coins will be circulating by Christmas, he said. Assistant Minister for Treasury Andrew Leigh said the government had not wanted to rush the coin transition following the queen's death in September last year. Certainly, we're keen to get as many of the new coins with the king's face on them out there as quickly as possible, Leigh said. The remaining denominations - 5, 10, 20 and 50 cent coins plus a Australian dollar 2 coin - will be rolled out with the king's left profile and without a crown during 2024 based on demand from banks. The latest queen's image wore a crown. In maintaining tradition, the right pro

Early voting begins in NZ's election and in Australia for Indigenous Voice

Early voting began on Monday in New Zealand for the nation's October 14 general election, with conservative contender Christopher Luxon casting his ballot. Early voting also began in some parts of Australia in a referendum that would enshrine in Australia's constitution a mechanism for Indigenous people to advise Parliament on policies that affect their lives. In New Zealand, the campaign of Prime Minister Chris Hipkins faced a setback on Sunday when he tested positive for COVID-19. He said he would isolate for five days or until he returned a negative test, but planned to continue with some engagements over Zoom. Hipkins and his liberal Labour Party have been lagging behind the opposition National Party, led by Christopher Luxon, in opinion polls.. After a rough night I woke up this morning feeling pretty unwell and just got this test result, Hipkins wrote on Instagram, and said he'd work twice as hard when he got back out on the campaign trail. Luxon on Sunday released a 100-da

Australia provides $5 million aid to Afghanistan amid rising poverty

The agency stated in a press release on Sunday that Australia has contributed more than $5.1 million to the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund

Oz lawmakers who visit Taiwan being utilized by separatists: Chinese envoy

China's ambassador to Australia on Thursday criticised Australian politicians who visit Taiwan, saying they are being utilized by separatists on the self-governing island. Ambassador Xiao Qian was commenting in Sydney after an Australian parliamentary delegation visited Taiwan this week, and as a former prime minister plans to deliver a speech in Taipei next month. China considers Taiwan to be part of its territory. Xiao said Australian parliamentarians and former prime ministers who visit Taiwan carry political significance. It might be easily utilised by the political forces in Taiwan for their independent forces movement, for their secession movement, and I don't want to see that happen, Xiao told reporters. I hope they will stick to the one-China policy' in words and indeed, refrain from engaging with Taiwan in whichever form or capacity so that they will not be politically utilized by people in the island with political motives, Xiao said. The one-China policy holds that the .

Sri Lankan cricketer found 'not guilty' of rape in Australian court case

Sri Lankan cricket international Danushka Gunathilaka has been found not guilty of raping a woman he met on a dating site during the south Asian team's tour of Australia last November. Judge Sarah Huggett acquitted the 32-year-old player as he sat at Sydney's Downing Centre District Court on Thursday listening to the decision. Huggett found that the alleged victim, who cannot be legally named, was an intelligent witness who did not deliberately give false evidence about the use of a condom but was motivated by a desire to paint the cricketer in an unfavorable light. I find that the evidence regarding the complaint far from supports the complainant. Rather it undermines the reliability of her evidence, she said. Gunathilaka and the woman met for drinks at a bar before having pizza together in downtown Sydney and catching a ferry to the woman's home in the city's eastern suburbs. The woman accused him of various acts of aggression and violence. Police initially brought four charges

China accuses Taiwan of using economic, trade issues to seek independence

The Chinese government on Wednesday accused Taiwan's ruling party of seeking independence, a day after the self-governing island's president lobbied for Australia's support in joining a regional trade pact. Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, also said the recent Chinese military drills around Taiwan were held to combat the arrogance of Taiwan independence separatist forces. China claims Taiwan, an island about 160 kilometres (100 miles) off its east coast, as its territory. The two split during the civil war that brought the Communists to power in China in 1949, with the losing Nationalists setting up their own government in Taiwan. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, meeting with six visiting Australian lawmakers on Tuesday, sought their country's support for Taiwan's bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, an 11-nation free trade agreement. The Australian parliamentary delegation discussed strengthening economic

Australian lawmakers call for warmer relations with 'self-ruled' Taiwan

On a visit to Taiwan, a delegation of six Australian lawmakers called on Tuesday for warmer relations with the self-ruled island increasingly threatened by Beijing. The visit comes as Australia has been working at recalibrating its relationship with China, which had been tense in the past few years over disputes on the origin of COVID-19. China in response had imposed tariff barriers on several Australian exports, such as barley. Paul Fletcher, a lawmaker with Australia's Liberal Party, lauded the fact that the lawmaker delegation crossed party lines. The two major parties in Australia are both represented and we are here to further the warm relationship between Australia and Taiwan, Fletcher said. They also discussed strengthening economic cooperation with Taiwan, particularly in clean energy, and expressed an interest in Taiwan's semi-conductor industry. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory. Taiwan, with a population of 23 million compared to China's 1.4 billion, has ne

As tensions rise between India-Canada, it should be a wakeup call for West

India's rage is misplaced and hardly serves to endear the country to those appalled by the idea that it may have had a Canadian citizen killed

HCLTech expands partnership with ANZ Banking group with a new deal

HCLTech will provide ANZ with digital workplace services and experience management across end-user devices and applications

Now, Indian medical graduates can practise in the US, Australia, Canada

The health ministry said that the recognition would allow Indian medical graduates to pursue postgraduate training and practise in other countries that require WFME recognition

Australia terms Trudeau's allegations against India 'concerning'

Australia has described Canada's allegations about India's involvement in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader as concerning and said Canberra is monitoring these developments closely and has raised the issues with its Indian counterparts. These remarks were made by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong at a press conference in the UN Headquarters on Tuesday. Wong, who is leading Australia's delegation to the high-level 78th session of the UN General Assembly, was responding to a question on allegations by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of the involvement of agents of the Indian government in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, the chief of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF). Look, these are concerning reports, and I note that investigations are still underway, but obviously these are concerning reports, and as I've said, we are monitoring these developments closely with our partners, and we'll continue to do so, Wong said at the press conference on ...

Australian University of Wollongong to start GIFT City campus by July 2024

Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) provides a unique opportunity to develop an ecosystem for finance and business school, University of Wollongong (UOW) Australia Vice Chancellor and President Patricia Davidson said here on Monday. The university, which plans to start its campus at the GIFT City by July next year, unveiled its UOW India identity. "I think GIFT City really provides a unique opportunity. Probably, you know, if you are trying to develop an environment or an ecosystem for finance and business school, you could not think of a more supportive and enabling environment than GIFT City," Davidson told reporters. "I think this would be a big differentiator, and we are really hoping that we can get many students from Australia and other campuses to come here and study at GIFT City," she added. The university's global brand ambassador and cricketer Adam Gilchrist was also present on the occasion. UOW and Deakin University are the two Australian universities to g