Page 25 - Australia

Australia's Albanese calls for free trade with China on visit to Beijing

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is calling for the full resumption of free and unimpeded trade with China in a meeting with his counterpart Li Qiang on the first first visit by an Australian leader to China in seven years. Climate change, food security and transnational crime are areas in which the two nations can cooperate, Albanese said Tuesday. The sides should discuss ways to shape a regional and global order that is peaceful, stable and prosperous, where countries respect sovereignty and meet their obligations under international law and conventions, Albanese said. Geostrategic competition must be handled through dialogue and through understanding, he said, in apparent reference to heightened tensions between China and the United States, a key Australian ally. "We can grow the relationship while advancing our respective interests, if we wisely navigate when there are differences," Albanese said. Li was quoted by the Australian foreign office as acknowledging that ..

Albanese calls for cooperation ahead of meeting with China's Xi Jinping

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese struck an optimistic tone ahead of his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Monday, calling for cooperation while emphasising that the two countries will continue to have differences. Albanese is the first Australian prime minister in seven years to visit China as the two countries have recently begun to repair a relationship that had crashed over trade and security differences. What I've said is that we need to co-operate with China where we can, disagree where we must and engage in our national interest," Albanese said in Beijing. "I think there are promising signs we've already seen, a number of the impediments to trade between our two nations removed and an uplift already, substantial uplift in the trade between our two nations. His visit is largely symbolic, and comes near the 50th anniversary of the first trip by an Australian prime minister to the People's Republic of China. He is planned to meet with Xi later Monday. China and

Anthony Albanese soon will be first Australian PM in 7 years to visit China

Anthony Albanese will become the first Australian prime minister in seven years to visit China in recognition that bilateral relations have improved after crashing to unprecedented depths over trade and security differences that remain largely unresolved. The election of Albanese's center-left government last year after nine years of conservative rule created an opportunity for a reset. His three-day visit that starts Saturday will take him to Shanghai then Beijing, though details about his itinerary are limited. Since 2016, when Chinese leader Xi Jinping met an Australian prime minister twice in six months, China severed top-level ministerial contacts. Official and unofficial trade sanctions stacked up since 2020 to cost Australian exporters up to 20 billion Australian dollars ($13 billion) a year for commodities including coal, wine, beef, barley and lobsters as business and politics entwined in the relationship as never before. But many say the trade boycott was hurting an ...

Fifa World Cup: Australia won't bid for 2034, Saudi Arabia likely to host

Football Australia on Tuesday said it won't bid for the 2034 FIFA World Cup, clearing the way for Saudi Arabia to host the men's marquee tournament. The chances of Australia hosting the 2034 event appeared unlikely after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) backed the Saudi bid on October 5. Indonesia's football association initially showed interest in a joint bid with Australia, potentially alongside Malaysia and Singapore, but that faded when Indonesia instead backed Saudi Arabia. We have explored the opportunity to bid to host the FIFA World Cup and having taken all factors into consideration we have reached the conclusion not to do so for the 2034 competition, Football Australia said in a statement. Australia will instead attempt to secure hosting rights for the 2029 Club World Cup and the 2026 Women's Asian Cup. We believe we are in a strong position to host the oldest women's international competition in the world, the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026, and then welcome the ...

China's falling aid to Pacific islands increasingly goes to allies: Report

China's declining aid to the South Pacific is increasingly targeted toward its political allies in the region as appetite there for Chinese credit declines and competition grows with the U.S. for influence, an independent Australian think tank reported Tuesday. Chinese overall economic influence among the 14 aid-dependent island nations in the region is losing ground because of better loan deals being offered by U.S. allies, especially Australia, the Sydney-based Lowy Institute said in its annual analysis of aid to the region. Focus on the strategic competition in the South Pacific has heightened since China struck a security pact with the Solomon Islands last year that raised the prospect of a Chinese naval foothold in the region. China has increased aid to the Solomons and neighboring Kiribati since they switched diplomatic allegiances to Beijing from self-ruled Taiwan in 2019, the report said. The United States has sought to counter Chinese influence in the region with additiona

Light show at World Cup 'dumbest idea' as they cause headache, says Maxwell

During the Australia vs Netherlands match in Delhi on Wednesday, Australian cricketer Glenn Maxwell was seen covering his eyes during the light show

Biden calls Australia anchor to peace, prosperity during Albanese's visit

President Joe Biden described Australia as an anchor to peace and prosperity while standing alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House on Wednesday, part of a state visit intended to deepen an alliance that's increasingly viewed as a critical counterweight to China's influence in the Pacific. It was the ninth and most high-profile meeting between the two leaders, reflecting their work toward closer ties on climate change, technology and national security. The United States also plans to provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia in the coming years, part of a collaboration with the United Kingdom. We renewed our commitment to defend the values that are at the heart of this alliance, Biden said. "We continue to stand as one to forge a better future for both of us and all of the region." The state visit, only the fourth since Biden took office, came against the backdrop of escalating fighting between Israel and Hamas. Biden began a joint press conference with ..

Delhi Police issues traffic advisory ahead of Aus vs Ned match on Oct 25

"No heavy vehicles and buses shall be allowed on the roads from Daryaganj to Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, and from Guru Nanak Chowk to Asaf Ali Road," the advisory read

Malaysia gives nod to Lynas to process rare earths until March 2026

Malaysia's government said on Tuesday it will allow Lynas Rare Earth to continue to import and process rare earths until March 2026, after the Australian miner proposed a new technology to extract radioactive elements from the waste it produces. The Lynas refinery in Malaysia, its first outside China producing minerals that are crucial to high-tech manufacturing, has been operating in central Pahang state since 2012. But the company has been embroiled in a dispute over radiation from waste accumulating at the plant. The government had ordered Lynas to move its leaching and cracking processes which produce the radioactive waste from Australian ore out of the country by the year's end. It also was not allowed to import raw materials with radioactive elements into the country. Science Minister Chang Lih Kang said the two conditions for renewing Lynas' license had been met after the company proposed a way to extract thorium, the radioactive element, from the raw rare earths it imports

Australia PM announces China visit hours before leaving for US to meet prez

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will visit China in early November, his office said Sunday hours before he was set to fly to the United States to meet President Joe Biden. Albanese's office also said China agreed to review the crippling tariffs it placed on Australian wine that have effectively blocked trade with the winemakers' biggest export market since 2020. Albanese will become the first Australian prime minister to visit China in seven years when he travels to Beijing and Shanghai from November 4-7. He will meet President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing and then attend the China International Import Expo in Shanghai. The visit to China and a potential breakthrough in the wine dispute mark a further repair in bilateral relations since Albanese's centre-left Labor Party won elections last year after nine years of conservative rule in Australia. I look forward to visiting China, an important step towards ensuring a stable and productive relationship, Alban

Australia decides against cancelling Chinese firm's lease of important port

The Australian government announced Friday it has decided not to cancel a Chinese company's 99-year lease on strategically important Darwin Port despite U.S. concerns that the foreign control could be used to spy on its military forces. The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet said it decided after an investigation of the eight-year-old lease that current monitoring and regulation measures are sufficient to manage security risks for critical infrastructure such as the port in the northern garrison city of Darwin. Australians can have confidence that their safety will not be compromised while ensuring that Australia remains a competitive destination for foreign investment, it said in a statement. Landbridge Industry Australia, a subsidiary of Rizhao-based Shandong Landbridge Group, signed the lease with the debt-laden Northern Territory government in 2015. That was three years after U.S. Marines began annual rotations through Darwin as part of the U.S. pivot to Asia. The United

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