Page 26 - Australia

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

Australia tells dating apps to improve safety standards to protect users

Australia's government said on Monday the online dating industry must improve safety standards or be forced to make changes through legislation, responding to research that says three-in-four Australian users suffer some form of sexual violence through the platforms. Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said popular dating companies such as Tinder, Bumble and Hinge have until June 30 to develop a voluntary code of conduct that addresses user safety concerns. The code could include improving engagement with law enforcement, supporting at-risk users, improving safety policies and practices, and providing greater transparency about harms, she said. But, Rowland added, if the safety standards are not sufficiently improved, the government will use regulation and legislation to force change. What we want to do in this sector is not stifle innovation, but balance the harms, she told reporters. The government is responding to Australian Institute of Criminology research published last

India to procure 20 more doses of monoclonal antibody for Nipah treatment

India will procure from Australia 20 more doses of monoclonal antibody for the treatment of Nipah virus infection, ICMR DG Rajeev Bahl said on Friday. "We got some doses of monoclonal antibody from Australia in 2018. Currently the doses are available for only 10 patients," he said. According to him, no one so far has been administered the medicine in India. "Twenty more doses are being procured. But the medicine needs to be given during the early stage of the infection," he said, adding it can only given as compassionate use medicine. Bahl also said mortality among the infected is very high in Nipah (between 40 and 70 per cent) in Nipah compared to the mortality in Covid, which was 2-3 per cent. He asserted that all efforts are on to contain the spread of the virus in Kerala. All patients are contact of an index patient, he said. On why cases keep surfacing in Kerala, Bahl said, "We do not know. In 2018, we found the outbreak in Kerala was related to bats. We are not sure how th

Cricket Australia makes neckguards mandatory at domestic, int'l level

The Cricket Australia (CA) has advocated the use of neck protectors since the demise of Phillip Hughes in 2014

Australia's highest court finds Qantas illegally fired 1,700 ground staff

Qantas Airways lost its challenge to a court ruling on Wednesday that the Australian flag carrier had illegally fired 1,700 baggage handlers, cleaners and other ground staff at the height of pandemic travel disruptions. Seven High Court judges unanimously rejected Qantas' appeal against a Federal Court full-bench decision. That court upheld a Federal Court judge's ruling that the sacking of Qantas staff at 10 Australian airports in 2020 was illegal. The ruling is another major blow for the airline which Australia's consumer watchdog is suing for more than 250 million Australian dollars ($160 million) for allegedly selling thousands of tickets mid-2022 for flights that already been canceled. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission initiated the Federal Court lawsuit two weeks ago for what it considers Australia's most serious-ever breach of consumer law. That prompted Qantas former chief executive Alan Joyce to retire last week two months ahead of schedule. The Transport ...

Australia, China open high-level dialogue in 3 yrs in sign of slight thaw

Australia and China opened their first high-level dialogue in three years on Thursday in a sign of a slight thaw to relations between countries that have clashed on everything from human rights to COVID-19 origins to trade. I welcome the recent positive developments in the bilateral relationship, but we know that there is more work to do, said Craig Emerson, the head of the Australian delegation and a former trade minister. The dialogue being held in Beijing will focus on trade, people-to-people links, and security. China's former Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said the two countries should work together, but added that we should adhere to the liberalization of trade and jointly oppose the Cold War mentality, bloc confrontation and trade protectionism. Beijing often uses those terms in opposing the actions of Western countries, particularly the US. During the freeze in relations with Beijing, Australia formed a nuclear partnership with the US and the United Kingdom that enables ...

India may invite Quad leaders as Republic Day guests next year: Report

A final call will be taken only after ascertaining the availability of the leaders

Weak global activity data sends US dollar to 6-month high, Aussie skids

The dollar climbed 0.63% against the yen to 147.42, its highest since November, and the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six main peers, rose 0.56% to 104.75, its highest since March

Underpaying workers in Australia may soon attract 10-year jail term

Workplace Minister Tony Burke said on Sunday he would introduce the bill making it a criminal offence to deliberately underpay workers

Delegation of Australian ministers to visit China in sign of improving ties

A delegation of Australian federal ministers will attend a high-level dialogue in Beijing next week in a further sign of a warming of relations after a years-long chill. Delegates will discuss trade and investment, people-to-people links and regional and international security at the Sept. 7 gathering. This is the first time the dialogue has been held since early 2020 and it represents another step towards increasing bilateral engagement and stabilizing our relationship with China, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Saturday. The resumption of the talks was one of the outcomes of a meeting the minister held with China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, in Beijing in December. It provides an opportunity for representatives from both countries to discuss our perspectives and how we can grow our cooperation in areas of shared interest, Wong said. The resumed dialogue comes a month after China lifted a stifling 3-year-old tariff on Australian barley in a strong sign of th