Page 26 - Australia

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

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